Whey powders are a rich source and excellent storage matrix for dairy bacteriophages.
Thirteen whey powders and 5 whey powder formulations were screened for the presence of dairy bacteriophages using a representative set of 8 acid-producing Lactococcus lactis and 5 Streptococcus thermophilus, and 8 flavour-producing Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides and Leuconostoc mesenteroides strains. Lytic L. lactis phages were detected in all samples, while S. thermophilus and Leuconostoc phages were present in 50% or 40% of the samples, respectively. Maximal phage titers were 6×107plaque-forming units (pfu)/g of whey powder for L. lactis phages, 1×107pfu/g for Leuconostoc phages and 1×105pfu/g for S. thermophilus phages. In total, 55 phages were isolated and characterized. Thirty one of the 33 lactococcal phages tested belonged to the wide-spread 936 phage group. In the course of this study, a PCR detection method for Leuconostoc phages (Ali et al., 2013) was adapted to new phage isolates. Furthermore, a remarkably high stability of phages in whey powder samples was documented during a long-term storage period of 4 years.
Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Max Rubner-Institut (Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food), Hermann-Weigmann-Str. 1, 24103 Kiel, Germany.
Natalia
N
Wagner
Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Max Rubner-Institut (Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food), Hermann-Weigmann-Str. 1, 24103 Kiel, Germany.
Erik
E
Brinks
Department of Soft Matter and Dairy Technology, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstraße 21, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
Meike
M
Samtlebe
Department of Soft Matter and Dairy Technology, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstraße 21, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
Jörg
J
Hinrichs
Department of Soft Matter and Dairy Technology, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstraße 21, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
Zeynep
Z
Atamer
Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej, 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
Witold
W
Kot
Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Max Rubner-Institut (Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food), Hermann-Weigmann-Str. 1, 24103 Kiel, Germany.
Charles M A P
CMAP
Franz
Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Max Rubner-Institut (Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food), Hermann-Weigmann-Str. 1, 24103 Kiel, Germany. Electronic address: horst.neve@mri.bund.de.
Horst
H
Neve
Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Max Rubner-Institut (Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food), Hermann-Weigmann-Str. 1, 24103 Kiel, Germany.
Knut J
KJ
Heller
D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D003470:Culture Media / Q000378:metabolism; D011208:Powders; D011309:Preservation, Biological / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D000067796:Whey / Q000382:microbiology*
D003470:Culture Media; D011208:Powders
Bacteriophage; Lactic acid bacteria; Lactococcus lactis; Leuconostoc spec.; Streptococcus thermophilus; Whey powder