Isolation of antimicrobial-producing bacteria from artisanal cheeses and characterization of potentially novel antimicrobial agents produced
Loading...
Date
2023-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Synthetic preservatives are traditionally used in food processing to enhance the safety and quality of a product. Recently, consumers have been demanding natural alternatives to these synthetic preservatives. Few bacteria produce antimicrobial peptides that can be used as food preservatives. This study aimed to isolate beneficial antimicrobial-producing bacteria from artisanal cheeses, with the long-term goal of characterizing promising antimicrobial agents produced by these bacteria. Screening for antimicrobial activity was done using a bioassay via a cellulose grid; this was followed by a quantitative bioassay using a microdilution approach. Isolates identities were determined using 16S rRNA sequencing and whole genome sequencing was used to evaluate genomes for biosynthetic gene clusters associated with antimicrobial production. Eight isolates were found to have strong antimicrobial activity on the bioassays, and biosynthetic gene clusters associated with antimicrobial production were found within their genomes. These clusters could be encoding for potentially novel antimicrobial peptides. These strains should continue to be studied to confirm novelty and determine structure and use of their peptides in food.
Description
First Place, Denman Undergraduate Research Forum and CFAES Undergraduate Research Forum
Keywords
Antimicrobials, Food science, Artisanal cheese, Microbiology, Food microbiology