Microbiota bacteriana e compostos voláteis de queijo minas artesanal da região da Serra da Canastra

Abstract

Bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi make up the microbiota of the cheese, interfering with the flavor of the final product. The use of culture-independent approaches can contribute to the study of microbial communities, enabling access to a vast diversity of cultivable microorganisms and those that are not cultivable in traditionally used media. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the bacterial community of Minas Artesanal aged cheese produced in three different properties (SC1, SC2, SC3) in the region of Canastra through shotgun metagenomics, as well as to correlate the microorganisms identified with the profiles of volatile compounds analyzed by GC-MS. Shotgun metagenomics identified 84,637, 47,614 and 60,037 sequences for samples SC1, SC2 and SC3, respectively. The phyla Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were the most abundant in all samples, with the exception of the SC1-R2 sample where the phylum Proteobacteria prevailed. The VOCs profile detected 65 different compounds, associating 37 compounds to the SC1 sample, 45 to the SC2 sample and 41 to the SC3 sample, giving the cheeses different aromas and flavors. The SC1-R2 sample showed contamination by pathogenic bacteria, inferring that this cheese is unsuitable for consumption. The study shows a diversity of bacterial ecology found in cheeses, changing their community from one farm to the next. In general, genera of bacteria beneficial to consumer health were found, with the exception of the SC1-R2 sample, which showed an excess of pathogenic bacteria. The maturation of cheese allows bacterial growth in the cheeses, which chemical reactions take place that contribute to the flavor and aroma of the final product.