Adventitious dairy Leuconostoc strains with interesting technological and biological properties useful for adjunct starters

CARDAMONE, L.; QUIBERONI, A.; MERCANTI, D.; FORNASARI, M. E.; REINHEIMER, J.; GUGLIELMOTTI, D.

DAIRY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Springer

Lugar: Rennes; Año: 2011 vol. 91 p. 457 - 470

1958-5586

Some species of Leuconostoc are very important for fermented dairy products,as they contribute to the organoleptic characteristics of butter and cream, andalso contribute to the formation of openings in some soft, semi-hard (Edam andGouda cheeses), many artisanal or in blue-veined cheeses, such as Roquefort.In this study, 14 Leuconostoc strains isolated from cheese and cheese-relatedproducts were characterized by genotypic and phenotypic methods, and theirtechnological performance assessed for their potential use as dairy adjunctstarters. Phenotypic characterization allowed these strains to be classified togenus level, and genotypic studies (RAPD-PCR and 16S rRNA genesequencing) identified them to species/subspecies level. Five Leuconostocstrains grew well and acidified milk, and most of them grew even at 8 °C. Theyshowed moderate resistance to heat treatments (30 min at 63 °C) and grewwell in the presence of 3% and 4% NaCl, and were significantly inhibited atpH ≤5. All strains showed resistance against the bacteriophages tested. Ingeneral, the antibacterial properties observed were slight and due to acidproduction, with the exception of Leuconostoc citreum MB1, which stronglyinhibited Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 15313 by the production of abacteriocin-like compound. All Leuconostoc strains studied were susceptible togentamicin, tetracycline, erythromycin and ampicillin. Some strains also showedinteresting technological and antimicrobial properties, thus being potentiallyappropriate as adjunct starters in fermented dairy products. This studyhighlights that adventitious lactic acid bacteria can be a great source of novelstrains with interesting technological features that could be used for fermenteddairy foods.