Identifying biofilm forming bacteria in cow milk in Mekong Delta, Viet Nam

Abstract

Bacterial biofilms are agglomeration of bacterial cells, stuck to the material surfaces of material in wet environments and formed by a self-produced matrix. The formation of bacterial biofilms is a great risk for the milk processing industry, as the survival of many bacterial species in cow milk may lead to many problems such as microbial spoilage, deterioration in quality, and consumer health risks. This study aimed to identify biofilm formation bacteria from cow milk. The experiment included isolation; biofilm forming assay in 96-well microtiter plates and the identification of microbial isolates using classical and molecular biological methods. A total of 14 bacterial isolates from 10 cow milk samples were evaluated for their biofilm formatting ability. Among them, four isolates were identified as moderate and strong biofilm producers. These four isolates belong to the genera Serratia and Aeromonas. Out of the 4 isolates, Serratia marcescens VL41 was classed as a strong biofilm producer while Aeromonas veronii ST15, Aeromonas sp. ST17, Serratia marcescens VL13 were classed as moderate biofilm producers respectively. The findings of this study suggest that it is necessary to discover the contamination causes and prevention of genera Serratia, and Aeromonas into cow milk.