Sucessão microbiana no processo de maturação do Queijo Minas Artesanal produzido na região de Araxá-MG, com a presença do mofo branco

Abstract

Minas Artesanal Cheese (QMA) produced in Araxá-MG is ripened in the presence of white mold obtained from raw milk and “pingo”, which carry a wide range of microorganisms, that alongside cultural, environmental, and cheese manufacturing characteristics provide unique and particular attributes to the cheeses produced in this place. The microbiota of artisanal cheeses has not yet been fully revealed concerning filamentous fungi, yeasts, and bacteria that make up the terroir of the various producing regions. This study aimed to identify the microorganisms involved in the quality, identity and regional authenticity of cheeses through the identification of bacteria, filamentous fungi and yeasts on Minas Artesanal Cheese produced in the region of Araxá-MG, their behavior and dominance successions during ripening, as well as analyzing physicochemical characteristics of the cheese. The samples were collected on a certified farm from Araxá-MG, during the rainy season, and during the ripening period (0, 15, 30, and 60 days). A total of 187,010 quality sequences suitable for reading (reads) were generated, with an average of 46,752 reads per sample at the taxonomic level of species and genera of fungi and bacteria. As for the physicochemical parameters, only pH, moisture and protein showed statistical differences (p<0.05) throughout ripening. The most abundant bacterial species were Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis CV56, Corynebacterium variabile DSM 44702, Brevibacterium aurantiacum, Streptococcus salivarius 57.I, Streptococcus thermophilus, Vibrio casei, Bacillus cereus, Lactobacillus brevis, Streptococcus equinus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Streptococcus vestibularis, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The most abundant fungal species were Candida catenulata, Geotrichum candidum, Kluyveromyces lactis, and Torulaspora delbrueckii. No significant relative abundance was observed for filamentous fungi species. The most abundant genera of bacteria were Streptococcus sp., Actinoalloteichus sp., Marinomonas sp., Lactococcus sp. As for fungi, the most abundant were the yeasts Kluyveromyces sp. Candida sp., Saccharomyces sp., and Torulaspora sp. and the filamentous fungi genus Fusarium sp. Identifying the species and genus previously mentioned made it possible to obtain more information about the microbiota of the QMA from Araxá-MG.