Brevibacterium from Austrian hard cheese harbor a putative histamine catabolism pathway and a plasmid for adaptation to the cheese environment

Abstract

The genus Brevibacterium harbors many members important for cheese ripening. We performed real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) to determine the abundance of Brevibacterium on rinds of Vorarlberger Bergkäse, an Austrian artisanal washed-rind hard cheese, over 160 days of ripening. Our results show that Brevibacterium are abundant on Vorarlberger Bergkäse rinds throughout the ripening time. To elucidate the impact of Brevibacterium on cheese production, we analysed the genomes of three cheese rind isolates, L261, S111, and S22. L261 belongs to Brevibacterium aurantiacum , whereas S111 and S22 represent novel species within the genus Brevibacterium based on 16S rRNA gene similarity and average nucleotide identity. Our comparative genomic analysis showed that important cheese ripening enzymes are conserved among the genus Brevibacterium . Strain S22 harbors a 22 kb circular plasmid which encodes putative iron and hydroxymethylpyrimidine/thiamine transporters. Histamine formation in fermented foods can cause histamine intoxication. We revealed the presence of a putative metabolic pathway for histamine degradation. Growth experiments showed that the three Brevibacterium strains can utilize histamine as the sole carbon source. The capability to utilize histamine, possibly encoded by the putative histamine degradation pathway, highlights the importance of Brevibacterium as key cheese ripening cultures beyond their contribution to cheese flavor production.

Mobilome of Brevibacterium aurantiacum Sheds Light on Its Genetic Diversity and Its Adaptation to Smear-Ripened Cheeses

“…The presence of plasmids in Brevibacterium is rare with only a few described in the literature (Sandoval et al, 1985; Kato et al, 1989; Ankri et al, 1996; Moore et al, 2003; Nardi et al, 2005; Anast et al, 2019). We searched for the presence of plasmids and only one strain, B. linens ATCC 19391, harbored one.…”

The transcriptome of Listeria monocytogenes during co-cultivation with cheese rind bacteria suggests adaptation by induction of ethanolamine and 1,2-propanediol catabolism pathway genes

“…Psychrobacter L7 (Gammaproteobacteria) most likely belongs to the species Psychrobacter celer, and Brevibacterium S111 (Actinobacteria) may represent a novel, yet undescribed, Brevibacterium species. Psychrobacter L7 and Brevibacterium S111 were isolated from the rinds of Vorarlberger Bergkäse, an Austrian mountain cheese produced in western Austria [34,35]. Quantitative PCR and whole genome analysis revealed that Psychrobacter L7 and Brevibacterium S111 are highly abundant on cheese rinds throughout ripening and may significantly contribute to the cheese ripening process [34,35].…”

DNAtandem repeats contribute to the genetic diversity of Brevibacterium aurantiacum phages

“…The microbial system of washed rind cheeses is also very complex, and its balance is a key to develop the specific cheese flavour and colour. Brevibacterium aurantiacum is among the most important bacterial species used as a surface ripening culture for such cheeses (Cogan et al ., 2014; Bonham et al ., 2017; Pham et al ., 2017; Anast et al ., 2019; Levesque et al ., 2019). This bacterial species is part of the taxonomic group of orange pigment‐producing Brevibacterium genus (Gavrish et al ., 2004), in which Brevibacterium linens is the type species (Gavrish et al ., 2004; Forquin et al ., 2009).…”

“…During cheese maturation, the ripening cultures are added to the curds in successive surface washes, contributing to the final organoleptic characteristics (Rattray and Fox, 1999; Onraedt et al ., 2005; Motta and Brandelli, 2008). Even though these bacteria have been receiving growing interest lately (Bonham et al ., 2017; Pham et al ., 2017; Anast et al ., 2019), B. aurantiacum phages have yet to be isolated and characterized. Although complex, cheese rind microbial communities have been shown to be a tractable system that can be used to understand the dynamics influencing microbial assembly, succession and function (Wolfe et al ., 2014).…”