Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus to control Escherichia coli on meat matrices

Abstract

Summary Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a predator micro‐organism towards other Gram‐negative bacteria. We tested B. bacteriovorus to control Escherichia coli growth on chicken slices and canned beef. Moreover, we analysed B. bacteriovorus's lytic ability on eight toxigenic or multidrug‐resistant E. coli strains. In chicken slices, the predator induced the highest prey reduction (4.3 log) respect to control at 6 h. In canned beef, the predator induced the highest prey reduction (2.1 log) respect to control at 6 h. Moreover, B. bacteriovorus showed lytic ability towards all tested E. coli strains. B. bacteriovorus could control E. coli and other pathogenic and spoilage bacteria in those meat‐based foods that have a shelf life <10 days. It could integrate modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) to prolong the shelf life and improve the safety of pre‐packed fresh meat, meat preparations and meat products. In future applications on meat‐based foods, B. bacteriovorus could also minimise the use of additives.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus control in mussels by a Halobacteriovorax isolated from the Adriatic sea, Italy.

“…Each experiment was replicated twice and the average of the data was calculated. The difference in the prey counts of duplicate experiments was always within 0.5 log that was the limit of repeatability that we had defined on the basis of previous studies (Ottaviani et al, 2018(Ottaviani et al, , 2019. The highest prey reduction equal to 2.48 log was obtained with 10 3 PFU/10 5 CFU per mL predator/prey ratio (Supplementary Table 1).…”

Biotechnological Potential of Bdellovibrio and Like Organisms and Their Secreted Enzymes

“…Administration of B. bacteriovorus on the surface of post-harvest mushrooms resulted in the reduction of brown-blotch lesions, which could help extend the shelf-life of the product (Saxon et al, 2014). Similarly, Ottaviani et al (2019) demonstrated that B. bacteriovorus is able to control E. coli and other spoilage bacteria in meat products. This preliminary study showed that predatory bacteria can complement current methods of food spoilage prevention, as well as be a natural alternative to preservatives and antioxidants.…”

Effectiveness of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus to contain Escherichia coli on milk and temperature impact on predation dynamics

“…However, these lines of study have not yet produced published data, to the best of our knowledge. To date, the only data available are those concerning the application of B. bacteriovorus on some sterilized foods and food processing surfaces on a laboratory scale (Fratamico and Cooke, 1995;Lu and Cai, 2010;Ottaviani et al, 2019;Youdkes et al, 2020). The predatory ability of B. bacteriovorus in complex natural habitats, with mixed microbial flora, such as raw milk, is yet to be discovered.…”