Abstract
Insight into the microbial species diversity of fermented meats is not only paramount to gain control over quality development, but also to better understand the link with processing technology and geographical origin. To study the composition of the microbial communities, the use of culture-independent methods is increasingly popular but often still suffers from drawbacks, such as a limited taxonomic resolution. This study aimed to apply a previously developed high-throughput amplicon sequencing (HTS) method targeting the 16S rRNA and tuf genes to characterize the bacterial communities in European fermented meats in greater detail. The data obtained broadened the view on the microbial communities that were associated with the various products examined, revealing the presence of previously underreported subdominant species. Moreover, the composition of these communities could be linked to the specificities of individual products, in particular pH, salt content, and geographical origin. In contrast, no clear links were found between the volatile organic compound profiles of the different products and the country of origin, distinct processing conditions, or microbial communities. Future application of the HTS method offers the potential to further unravel complex microbial communities in fermented meats, as well as to assess the impact of different processing conditions on microbial consortia.
Highlights
The geographical origin of fermented foods plays an important role in conferring cultural and gastronomic meanings as well as in influencing certain product characteristics [1,2,3]
The objective of this study was to assess if a previously developed amplicon-based high-throughput amplicon sequencing (HTS) method targeting the 16S rRNA and tuf genes [33] can be successfully applied to chart the bacterial communities in European fermented meats
The present study demonstrated that an amplicon-based HTS method targeting regions of the 16S
Summary
The geographical origin of fermented foods plays an important role in conferring cultural and gastronomic meanings as well as in influencing certain product characteristics [1,2,3]. For instance, have been part of the culinary heritage of many communities throughout the world, showcasing a rich microbial species diversity that is linked to their origin [4]. European fermented meat products often provide explicit references to geography [5], which parallels differences in fermentative microbiota [6]. The fermentative microorganisms consist primarily of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS). North-European fermented meat products are usually subjected to a faster fermentation at higher temperatures, leading to a more acid
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