Use of a metagenetic approach to monitor the bacterial microbiota of “Tomme d’Orchies” cheese during the ripening process

The study of microbial ecosystems in artisanal foodstuffs is important to complete in order to unveil its diversity. The number of studies performed on dairy products has increased during the last decade, particularly those performed on milk and cheese derivative products. In this work, we investigated the bacterial content of "Tomme d'Orchies" cheese, an artisanal pressed and uncooked French cheese. To this end, a metagenetic analysis, using Illumina technology, was utilized on samples taken from the surface and core of the cheese at 0, 1, 3, 14 and 21 days of ripening process. In addition to the classical microbiota found in cheese, various strains likely from environmental origin were identified. A large difference between the surface and the core content was observed within samples withdrawn during the ripening process. The main species encountered in the core of the cheese were Lactococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp., with an inversion of this ratio during the ripening process. Less than 2.5% of the whole population was composed of strains issued from environmental origin, as Lactobacillales, Corynebacterium and Brevibacterium. In the core, about 85% of the microbiota was attributed to the starters used for the cheese making. In turn, the microbiota of the surface contained less than 30% of these starters and interestingly displayed more diversity. The predominant genus was Corynebacterium sp., likely originating from the environment. The less abundant microbiota of the surface was composed of Bifidobacteria, Brevibacterium and Micrococcales. To summarize, the “Tomme d’Orchies” cheese displayed a high diversity of bacterial species, especially on the surface, and this diversity is assumed to arise from the production environment and subsequent ripening process.