The importance of autolysis of lactic acid bacteria in cheese ripening
is evident from the literature. However, the mechanisms and the conse
quences still require investigation. The consequences of autolysis of
mesophilic starters in Cheddar cheese are discussed and highlights fro
m current physiological and genetic studies on starter autolysis are p
resented. The relative merits of measuring starter autolysis in cheese
by viable starter cell densities, electron microscopic observations a
nd assay of cell-free cytoplasmic enzymes are discussed for cheese stu
dies using different starter strains and added phage to achieve differ
ent levels of auotolysis. The balance of both the intact and autolysed
starter cells in young curd appear to be important in cheese ripening
. The intact cells are necessary for physiological reactions such as l
actose fermentation and oxygen removal and possibly for a number of fl
avour reactions. In contrast, the main consequence of autolysed cells
in cheese is to accelerate the peptidolytic reactions. The possible of
autolysis of adventitious lactic acid bacteria during cheese ripening
are discussed.