Abstracto

An Assessment of the innocuity of Enterococcus faecium isolated from buffalo milk in southern Brazil

Jéssica Pires Kurtz, Tiela Trapp Grassotti, Ana Paula Guedes Frazzon, Márcia Monks Jantzen, Amanda de Souza da Motta*

Food processing is an ongoing process in the pursuit of innovation. Fermented dairy products are an example of the wide range of existing goods and cultures associated with this particular method. In this sense, starter and probiotic cultures of the same species, derived from and applied to milk, may provide greater product specificity. The objective of the present study was to identify Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) isolated from raw buffalo milk and assess safety indicators. By sequencing the 16S rDNA gene, LAB isolates were identified as belonging to the Enterococcus genus, which showed negative results for gelatin hydrolysis and hemolysin production. E. faecium M7AN7- 1 and E. faecium M7AN10 were found to be susceptible to all antimicrobials tested and were selected for assays which sought to detect genes related to virulence and antimicrobial resistance. The results obtained demonstrated that E. faecium M7AN7-1 and E. faecium M7AN10 presented the necessary innocuity to continue being culture candidates for further studies concerning their functionality in food quality, whether as cultures of technological or probiotic importance.