title: Microbial communities involved in Kaşar cheese ripening.
abstract: The microbiota of non-starter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB) and their concomitant community dynamics during cheese ripening were investigated for traditional Turkish Kaşar cheeses made from raw cows' milk. Five batches of 15 Kaşar cheeses produced in different dairy plants located in Kars were analysed during their whole ripening phase up to 180 days. Lactobacilli and lactococci were determined as the prevailing microbial groups. The molecular classification and identification of 594 LAB isolates during Kaşar cheese ripening were performed through (GTG)5-PCR fingerprinting of their genomic DNA followed by verification of the (GTG)5-PCR clusters obtained after numerical analysis through 16S rRNA gene sequencing of representative isolates. Lactobacillus casei (247 isolates, 41.6%), Lactobacillus plantarum (77 isolates, 13.0%), and Pediococcus acidilactici (58 isolates, 9.8%) were the prevailing NSLAB species in all Kaşar cheeses of the different dairy plants investigated throughout cheese ripening. The data of the present study contribute to the inventory of unique cheese varieties to enable the prevention of losses of microbial biodiversity and the selection of starter cultures for controlled cheese manufacturing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Çankırı Karatekin University, 18100, Çankırı, Turkey. Electronic address: oaydemir@karatekin.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Oğuz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aydemir
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology (IMDO), Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Harth
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology (IMDO), Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weckx
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ondokuz Mayıs University, 55139, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muhammet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dervişoğlu
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology (IMDO), Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Vuyst
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002417:Cattle; D002611:Cheese / Q000032:analysis / Q000382:microbiology*; D007777:Lactobacillaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: Cheese ripening; Kaşar cheese; Non–starter lactic acid bacteria