The microbiota of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO cheese: a study across the manufacturing process

Abstract

All samples, except for raw buffalo milk, exhibited a core microbiome predominantly composed of <i>Streptococcus</i> spp. and <i>Lactobacillus</i> spp., albeit with different ratios between the two genera across the two MBC producers. Notably, the microbiota of the brine from both dairies, analyzed using 16S amplicon sequencing for the first time, was dominated by the <i>Lactobacillus</i> and <i>Streptococcus</i> genera, while only dairy C showed the presence of minor genera such as <i>Pediococcus</i> and <i>Lentilactobacillus</i>. Intriguingly, the final mozzarella samples from both producers displayed an inversion in the dominance of <i>Lactobacillus</i> spp. over <i>Streptococcus</i> spp. in the microbiota compared to curd samples, possibly attributable to the alleviation of thermal stress following the curd stretching step. In conclusion, the different samples from the two production facilities did not exhibit significant differences in terms of the species involved in MBC cheesemaking. This finding confirms that the key role in the MBC cheesemaking process lies with a small-sized microbiome primarily composed of <i>Streptococcus</i> and <i>Lactobacillus</i> spp.