Accelerating Effect of Cold-Tolerant Lactiplantibacillus plantarum on Microbial Succession, Proteolysis, and Flavor Development During Cheddar Cheese Ripening

• Published in: Food bioscience 2025-01, Vol.63, p.105785, Article 105785
• Main Authors: Chen, Nuo, Zhang, Zhuoting, Zhang, Min, Liu, Juyuan, Yang, Ming, Zeng, Yuehan, Yang, Zhennai, Sun, Ting, Lan, Hanglian, Hung, Wei-Lian, Zhang, Jian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adjunct cultures; Cheddar cheese; cheese ripening; cold-tolerant Lactiplantibacillus plantarum; proteolytic activity
• ISSN: 2212-4292
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fbio.2024.105785

A cold-tolerant Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain NMGL2, isolated from Inner Mongolian cheese, was studied as an adjunct culture to accelerate the ripening of Cheddar cheese. L. plantarum NMGL2 exhibited significantly higher (37%-351%) proteolytic activity against peptide substrates (Lys-pNA and Gly-Pro-pNA) at low temperatures (10 °C -20 °C) and pH 5.0 compared to other L. plantarum strains (YW32, 12-3, 13-3) isolated from the same source. Inoculation of 7.0 log cfu/mL of L. plantarum NMGL2 with starter culture significantly altered the cheese microbiome during ripening, increasing both diversity and the relative abundance of non-starter lactic acid bacteria (L. plantarum, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides), while reducing the abundance of Streptococcus thermophilus. This shift in microbial community composition is accompanied by accelerated cheese proteolysis, evidenced by a faster accumulation of short peptides (