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The composition of Camembert cheese-ripening cultures modulates both mycelial growth and appearance.

ABSTRACT: The fungal microbiota of bloomy-rind cheeses, such as Camembert, forms a complex ecosystem that has not been well studied, and its monitoring during the ripening period remains a challenge. One limitation of enumerating yeasts and molds on traditional agar media is that hyphae are multicellular structures, and colonies on a petri dish rarely develop from single cells. In addition, fungi tend to rapidly invade agar surfaces, covering small yeast colonies and resulting in an underestimation of their number. In this study, we developed a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) method using TaqMan probes to quantify a mixed fungal community containing the most common dairy yeasts and molds: Penicillium camemberti, Geotrichum candidum, Debaryomyces hansenii, and Kluyveromyces lactis on soft-cheese model curds (SCMC). The qPCR method was optimized and validated on pure cultures and used to evaluate the growth dynamics of a ripening culture containing P. camemberti, G. candidum, and K. lactis on the surface of the SCMC during a 31-day ripening period. The results showed that P. camemberti and G. candidum quickly dominated the ecosystem, while K. lactis remained less abundant. When added to this ecosystem, D. hansenii completely inhibited the growth of K. lactis in addition to reducing the growth of the other fungi. This result was confirmed by the decrease in the mycelium biomass on SCMC. This study compares culture-dependent and qPCR methods to successfully quantify complex fungal microbiota on a model curd simulating Camembert-type cheese.

SUBMITTER: Lessard MH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3298135 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The composition of Camembert cheese-ripening cultures modulates both mycelial growth and appearance.

Lessard Marie-Hélène MH Bélanger Gaétan G St-Gelais Daniel D Labrie Steve S

Applied and environmental microbiology 20120113 6

The fungal microbiota of bloomy-rind cheeses, such as Camembert, forms a complex ecosystem that has not been well studied, and its monitoring during the ripening period remains a challenge. One limitation of enumerating yeasts and molds on traditional agar media is that hyphae are multicellular structures, and colonies on a petri dish rarely develop from single cells. In addition, fungi tend to rapidly invade agar surfaces, covering small yeast colonies and resulting in an underestimation of the ...[more]

PMID: 22247164

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Project description:BackgroundCheese ripening is a complex, time consuming and expensive process, which involves the generation of precursors from carbohydrates, proteins and fats and their subsequent conversion into a wide range of compounds responsible for the flavour and texture of the cheese. This study aims to investigate production of cheese aroma compounds outside the cheese matrix that could be applied for instance as food supplements in dairy or non-dairy products.ResultsIn this study, aroma formation by a dairy Lactococcus lactis was analysed as a function of the growth medium [milk, hydrolysed micellar casein isolate (MCI) and chemically defined medium (CDM)] and the cultivation conditions (batch culture, retentostat culture and a milli-cheese model system). In the retentostat cultures, the nutrient supply was severely restricted resulting in low growth rates (~ 0.001 h-1), thereby mimicking cheese ripening conditions in which nutrients are scarce and bacteria hardly grow. In total 82 volatile organic compounds were produced by the bacteria. Despite the use of a chemically defined medium, retentostat cultures had the biggest qualitative overlap in aroma production with the milli-cheese model system (36 out of 54 compounds). In the retentostat cultures, 52 known cheese compounds were produced and several important cheese aroma compounds and/or compounds with a buttery or cheese-like aroma increased in retentostat cultures compared to batch cultures and milli-cheeses, such as esters, methyl ketones, diketones and unsaturated ketones. In cultures on CDM and MCI, free fatty acids and their corresponding degradation products were underrepresented compared to what was found in the milli-cheeses. Addition of a mixture of free fatty acids to CDM and MCI could help to enhance flavour formation in these media, thereby even better resembling flavour formation in cheese.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that retentostat cultivation is the preferred method to produce cheese flavours outside the cheese matrix by mimicking the slow growth of bacteria during cheese ripening.

Dataset Information

The composition of Camembert cheese-ripening cultures modulates both mycelial growth and appearance.

Publications

The composition of Camembert cheese-ripening cultures modulates both mycelial growth and appearance.

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