Bitto is a ProtectedDesignation of Origin raw milk cheese produced in a restricted Italian alpine area only during the summer transhumance. The indigenous microbial ecosystem of this artisanal cheese is considered a primary factor related to its typicality. The aim of the research was to investigate the dynamics of wild lactic acid bacteria (LAB) involved in Bitto production and to study the characteristics of LAB. A total of 210 LAB isolates from curd, whey and ripened cheese, were first molecularly analysed by means of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). After strain differentiation, LAB were identified at the species level using speciesspecific primers and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Genotypic diversity and technological properties of major interest for cheese making (acidification ability, redox potential and caseinolytic activity) were also evaluated. The predominant species, in both curd and ripened cheese, was Enterococcus faecium, and there appeared a high degree of diversity in the genotypic and technological traits. By using 16S rRNA sequencing and RAPD-PCR as well as examining the phenotypic properties, the new isolates were shown to belong to a novel enterococcal species for which the name Enterococcus lactis has been proposed. Among the curd isolates, six bacteriocin producers were found belonging to E. faecium, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus species.
意大利PDO Bitto干酪中野生乳酸菌的技术、表型和基因型特性研究摘要 Bitto 是产自意大利阿尔卑斯山部分地区,且仅在夏季放牧季节生产的 PDO(原 产地名号保护)鲜乳干酪。这种手工干酪中固有的微生物生态系统被 认为是决定 该干酪特性的主要因素。本研究目的是调查Bitto 生产过程中野