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. 2017 Mar;55(1):55-66.
doi: 10.17113/ftb.55.01.17.4854.

Lactococci of Local Origin as Potential Starter Cultures for Traditional Montenegrin Cheese Production

Mirjana Bojanic  1 , Rasovic  1 , Sigrid Mayrhofer  2 , Aleksandra Martinovic  3 , Katharina Dürr  2 , Konrad J Domig  2
Affiliations

Lactococci of Local Origin as Potential Starter Cultures for Traditional Montenegrin Cheese Production

Mirjana Bojanic et al. Food Technol Biotechnol. 2017 Mar.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to characterise and examine the biochemical properties of 40 Lactococcus lactis strains isolated from indigenous Montenegrin dairy products in order to explore their potential to be used as starter cultures for producing typical Montenegrin cheese, such as 'bijeli sir', 'masni sir' and 'njeguški sir'. Their safety regarding the production of biogenic amines, the presence of antimicrobial resistance and the antibacterial activity against relevant pathogens and spoilage microorganisms has also been tested. Based on the characterisation, all strains belong to L. lactis ssp. lactis. Out of these 40 strains, 23 displayed rapid acidification ability and proteolysis. However, none of the strains exhibited the ability of lipid degradation. Most of the strains were not associated with any health risk investigated. Summing up, a large percentage (27.5%) of the tested strains showed good properties. These strains should be further examined for their possible application as specific starter cultures in the production of indigenous cheese in Montenegro.

Keywords: Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis; safety assessment; starter cultures; technological properties; traditional Montenegrin cheese.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Composite dataset of RAPD patterns obtained for 40 Lactococcus lactis test strains and two type strains, demonstrating genetic variability. MON=tested strains; DSM=Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen (German Collection of Microorganisms): DSM 20481T=Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis, DSM 20069T=Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris. Pearson’s correlation: optimisation: 1%, curve smoothing: 0%, M13 active zone: 20–90%; 1283 active zone: 30–100%
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