Abstract
Lactococcus lactis plays an essential role as a starter in the dairy industry. Unfortunately this species is susceptible to bacteriophage infections that result in fermentation failures and subsequent economic losses. This paper reports a PCR screening method that detects prophages in the genomes of wild lactococcal strains isolated from Cabrales cheese, a traditional, Spanish, blue-veined cheese, which is not inoculated. Approximately, one sixth of the samples tested carried a prophage in the genome. PCR positive strains were treated with mitomycin C to induce the lytic cycle and to determine the viability of the detected prophages. 66.6% of the PCR-positive strains lysed after induction, showing the threat these viruses pose to the dairy industry. The results of this work show that PCR could be routinely used as a rapid screening method for the detection of lysogenic Lactococcus strains.
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