Enterococcus lactis sp. nov., from Italian raw milk cheeses

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Food Science
• Bacteriology

Background:

• Enterococcus species are common in dairy products.
• Atypical Enterococcus strains can pose challenges in species identification.
• Italian raw milk cheeses are a potential source of novel microbial diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and characterize a novel Enterococcus species isolated from Italian raw milk cheeses.
• To differentiate the novel species from known Enterococcus species using polyphasic taxonomy.

Main Methods:

• Isolation and cultivation of bacterial strains from raw milk cheese.
• 16S rRNA, pheS, rpoA gene sequencing.
• 16S-23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing.
• Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) PCR.
• Phenotypic characterization.

Main Results:

• Ten atypical Enterococcus isolates from Italian raw milk cheeses were identified.
• Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA, pheS, and rpoA genes indicated a novel species.
• 16S-23S rRNA ITS sequencing, RAPD-PCR, and phenotypic data supported the distinction from known Enterococcus species.
• The proposed name for the novel species is Enterococcus lactis sp. nov., with strain BT159(T) as the type strain.

Conclusions:

• A novel Enterococcus species, Enterococcus lactis, has been identified and characterized.
• This discovery expands the known diversity of Enterococcus within dairy environments.
• The findings highlight the importance of comprehensive taxonomic methods for bacterial identification.