A survey of the enterococci isolated from an artisanal Italian goat's cheese (semicotto caprino)

Enterococci were isolated from semicotto caprino cheese, a traditional chee se produced in Southern Italy: they were a significant part of the microbia l population of this cheese, confirming the importance of the presence of t hese micro-organisms during cheese-making and ripening. They were also iden tified and studied for their phenotypic and genotypic characteristics: Ente rococcus faecalis and Ent. faecium were the most frequently isolated specie s, followed by Ent. durans, Ent. hirae and Ent. gallinarum. None of the iso lates showed lipolytic activity, whereas they were characterized by a relev ant proteolytic activity as well as an antagonistic activity towards Lister ia innocua. One strain of Ent. gallinarum showed a low-level resistance to vancomycin, while six out of the 79 Ent. faecalis strains possessed beta-ha emolysis reaction. The highest acidifying potential in skim milk was obtain ed by Ent. faecalis isolates. Thirty enterococcal strains representative of the different species at different ripening times were analysed by means o f RAPD-PCR, and revealed species-specific profiles for all the considered s pecies.