@misc{10481/102837,
year = {2025},
month = {1},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/102837},
abstract = {Cheese production involves various lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that break down lactose, milk proteins, and fats, producing
key nutrients and influencing the cheese’s flavor. They form communities that play a crucial role in determining the cheese’s
organoleptic properties. The composition of cheeses’ microbial communities is shaped by physicochemical factors (e.g., tem-
perature, pH, and salinity) and biological factors (i.e. microbial interactions). While starter cultures are introduced to control
these communities, non-starter LAB represent a significant portion of the final microbial assemblage, but their interactions
remain unclear. LAB often produce bacteriocins, antimicrobial peptides that antagonize other bacteria, but their role within
LAB communities is not fully understood. This study aimed to assess the impact of bacteriocin production on LAB diversity
in cheese, using Enterococcus as a model organism, a common bacteriocin producer. We analyzed enterocin production of
enterococcal isolates by antimicrobial assays and microbial diversity differences in raw milk cheeses by two approaches: 16S
RNA gene amplicon metagenomic sequencing for the whole microbial community and multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA)
for the enterococcal diversity. Our results revealed that LAB communities were dominated by lactococci, lactobacilli, and
streptococci, with enterococci present in lower numbers. However, cheeses containing bacteriocin-producing enterococci
exhibited higher microbial diversity. Interestingly, the highest diversity occurred at low levels of bacteriocin producers, but
this effect was not observed within enterococcal populations. These findings suggest that bacteriocin production plays a
key role in shaping LAB communities during cheese ripening, although further research is needed to understand its broader
implications in other microbial ecosystems.},
organization = {Universidad de Granada/CBUA},
organization = {Junta de Andalucía (FEDER Andalucía 2014–2020)  A-BIO-083-UGR18},
organization = {PAIDI Program Group BIO 309 (MEF-V)},
organization = {Gobierno de España PEJ2018-003019-A},
publisher = {Springer Nature},
keywords = {Enterococcus},
keywords = {Cheese microbiota},
keywords = {Microbial interactions},
keywords = {Microbial diversity},
keywords = {Bacteriocins},
title = {Bacteriocin‑Producing Enterococci Modulate Cheese Microbial Diversity},
doi = {10.1007/s00248-025-02491-7},
author = {Teso Pérez, Claudia and López‑Gazcón, Areli and Peralta Sánchez, Juan Manuel and Martínez Bueno, Manuel and Valdivia Martínez, Dolores Eva and Farez Vidal, María Esther and Martín Platero, Antonio Manuel},
}