Overview of a Surface-Ripened Cheese Community Functioning by Meta-Omics

Abstract Cheeseripeningisacomplexbiochemicalprocessdrivenbymicrobialcommunitiescom-posedofbotheukaryotesandprokaryotes.Surface-ripenedcheesesarewidelyconsumedallovertheworldandareappreciatedfortheircharacteristicflavor.Microbialcommunitycompositionhasbeenstudiedforalongtimeonsurface-ripenedcheeses,butonlylimitedknowledgehasbeenacquiredaboutitsinsitumetabolicactivities.Weappliedmetagenomic,metatranscriptomicandbiochemicalanalysestoanexperimentalsurface-ripenedcheesecomposedofninemicrobialspeciesduringfourweeksofripening.Bycombiningallofthedata,wewereabletoobtainanoverviewofthecheesematurationprocessandtobetterun-derstandthemetabolicactivitiesofthedifferentcommunitymembersandtheirpossibleinter-actions.Furthermore,differentialexpressionanalysiswasusedtoselectasetofbiomarkergenes,providingavaluabletoolthatcanbeusedtomonitorthecheese-makingprocess. Introduction Microbial communities are of major importance inthe fermentation offood products.Fer-mentation remains a widespread means for food processing and preservation,and fermentedfoods (including cheese)are widely consumed worldwide. Thecomposition and behavior ofthe microbial communities in a cheese are important for its characteristicorganolepticprop-erties, shelflifeandsafety[1]. These communities are involved in the generationofa wide