title: Antibiotic resistance of lactobacilli isolated from two italian hard cheeses.
abstract: One hundred forty-one lactobacilli strains isolated from natural whey starter cultures and ripened Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses were tested for their susceptibility to 13 antibiotics, in particular, penicillin G, ampicillin, amoxicillin, oxacillin, cephalotin, cefuroxime, vancomycin, gentamicin, tetracycline, erythromycin, clindamycin, co-trimoxazole, and nitrofurantoin. The strains belonged to the species Lactobacillus helveticus, L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis, L. rhamnosus, and L. casei. The strains of the first two species were isolated from whey starter cultures, and the strains of the last two species were from the ripened cheeses. Significant differences among the strains in their antibiotic resistance were found in relation to the type of cheese and, especially, the strains from Parmigiano Reggiano were more resistant to gentamicin and penicillin G. The strains isolated in the ripened cheese were generally more resistant than those isolated from natural whey starter cultures; in particular, significant differences regarding oxacillin, vancomycin, cephalotin, and co-trimoxazole were observed. Finally, no significant difference in relation to the type of cheese was found among the thermophilic lactobacilli isolated from whey cultures, while the facultatively heterofermentative lactobacilli isolated from Parmigiano Reggiano showed higher resistance toward gentamicin and penicillin G than did the same species isolated from Grana Padano.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti, Università di Bologna-Sede di Cesena, Piazza Goidanich 60, 47023, Cesena, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicoletta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Belletti
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gatti
authors.forename: Benedetta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bottari
authors.forename: Erasmo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Neviani
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tabanelli
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gardini
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002611:Cheese / Q000382:microbiology*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005516:Food Microbiology; D007558:Italy; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008894:Milk Proteins; D013045:Species Specificity; D000067816:Whey Proteins
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D008894:Milk Proteins; D000067816:Whey Proteins