New approaches for the study of lactic acid bacteria biodiversity: a focus on meat ecosystems

Abstract

New molecular and genomic approaches are revealing a more dynamic and diverse view of the microbial world than originally anticipated. Culture - independent molecular methods are providing a better knowledge of the microbial biodiversity in a wide range of environments as well as establishing a link between function and complex relationships among the members of natural microbial consortiums. Microbial populations that develop in meat and meat products are the result of the prevailing environmental conditions on the growth of microorganisms initially present in raw materials or introduced by cross - contamination or processing. Intrinsic meat chemical factors, processing, and storage conditions determine the type and number of bacteria present in meat and meat products. The dynamics of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and the composition of microbial communities resulting from the environmental determinants existing in raw chilled vacuum - packaged meat, fermented, and cooked meat ecosystems are discussed here. The understanding of how intermediary communities and individual LAB strains contribute to the bacteriological status of meat ecosystems is required for industrially useful innovations.