MICROBIOTA OF THE TRADITIONAL SLOVAK SHEEP CHEESE “BRYNDZA”

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to describe microbiota of the traditional Slovak cheese „Bryndza“. A total of 30 cheese samples were collected from seven different farms during in 2019. The microbiota studies included the total bacterial count, coliforms, enterococci, lactic acid bacteria, and yeasts. The total bacterial counts were cultivated on plate count agar at 30°C in aerobic conditions, lactic acid bacteria on MRS, APT and MSE at 37°C in anaerobic conditions, coliform on VRBL at 37 °C in aerobic condition and yeasts on MEA at 25°C in aerobic condition. Gram-positive, Gram-negative and yeasts isolates were identified by MALDI-TOF MS profiling. Totally, a number of 870 isolates were identified with score higher than 2. Hafnia alvei and Klebsiella oxytoca were the most frequently identified species of Gram-negative and Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus paracasei from Gram-positive bacteria. Dipodascus candidum and Yarrowia lipolitica were the most distributed yeasts. Lactic acid bacteria group was represented by Lactobacillus, Lactococcus and Pediococcus. The most abundant genera of lactic acid bacteria were Lactobacillus with 7 species. This study describs the indigenous microbiota of the traditional raw milk cheeses from Slovakia. Our results provide useful information on occurrence of valuable microbial strains for the industrialization of producing of the traditional cheese products.