Molecular analysis of bacterial population structure and dynamics during cold storage of untreated and treated milk

Spoilage bacteria in milk are controlled by treatments such as thermization, microfiltration and addition of carbon dioxide. However, little information is known about the changes in microbial communities during subsequent cold storage of treated milk. Culture-dependent methods and a direct molecular approach combining 16S rRNA gene clone libraries and quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) were applied to obtain a better overview of the structure and the dynamics of milk microbiota. Raw milk samples were treated by the addition of carbon dioxide (CO(2)), thermization (TH) or microfiltration (MF) and stored at 4 degrees C or 8 degrees C up to 7d. Untreated milk (UT) was used as a control. Psychrotrophic and staphylococci bacteria were enumerated in the milk samples by culture methods. For the molecular approach, DNA was extracted from milk samples and 16S rRNA gene was amplified by PCR with universal primers prior to cloning. The Q-PCR method was used to evaluate the dynamics of dominant bacterial species revealed by clone library analysis of 16S rRNA gene. Comparison of the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that the two most abundant operational taxonomic units (OTU), determined at 97% identity, belonged to the class Gammaproteobacteria (40.3% of the 1415 sequences) and Bacilli (40%). Dominant bacterial species in UT, CO(2) and TH milk samples at day 3 were affiliated with Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Clostridia, Aerococcus, Facklamia, Corynebacterium, Acinetobacter and Trichococcus. Dominant bacterial species detected in MF milk were Stenotrophomonas, Pseudomonas and Delftia, while Pseudomonas species dominated the bacterial population of UT, CO(2) and MF milk samples at day 7. Staphylococcus and Delftia were the dominant bacterial species in thermized milk. Q-PCR results showed that populations of S. aureus, A. viridans, A. calcoaceticus, C. variabile and S. uberis were stable during 7d of storage at 4 degrees C. Populations of P. fluorescens, S. uberis and total bacteria increased in UT and CO(2) milk samples during 7d of storage at 8 degrees C and were noticeable from day 3. This study shows new microbial species which can develop during cold storage after milk treatment and contributes to identifying causes of reduced shelf life and deterioration of technological properties of milk during storage.