Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Virulent Phages Isolated from A Smear-Ripened Cheese are Also Detected in Reservoirs of the Cheese Factory

Version 1 : Received: 3 June 2022 / Approved: 7 June 2022 / Online: 7 June 2022 (10:37:21 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Paillet, T.; Lossouarn, J.; Figueroa, C.; Midoux, C.; Rué, O.; Petit, M.-A.; Dugat-Bony, E. Virulent Phages Isolated from a Smear-Ripened Cheese Are Also Detected in Reservoirs of the Cheese Factory. Viruses 2022, 14, 1620. Paillet, T.; Lossouarn, J.; Figueroa, C.; Midoux, C.; Rué, O.; Petit, M.-A.; Dugat-Bony, E. Virulent Phages Isolated from a Smear-Ripened Cheese Are Also Detected in Reservoirs of the Cheese Factory. Viruses 2022, 14, 1620.

Abstract

Smear-ripened cheeses host complex microbial communities that play a crucial role in the ripening process. Although bacteriophages have been frequently isolated from dairy products, their diversity and ecological role in such type of cheese remain underexplored. In order to fill this gap, the main objective of this study was to isolate and characterize bacteriophages from the rind of a smear-ripened cheese. Thus, viral particles extracted from cheese rind were tested against a collection of bacterial isolates through a spot assay. In total, five virulent bacteriophages infecting Brevibacterium aurantiacum, Glutamicibacter arilaitensis, Leuconostoc falkenbergense and Psychrobacter aquimaris species were obtained. All exhibit a narrow host range, being only able to infect a few cheese-rind isolates within the same species. The complete genome of each phage was sequenced using both Nanopore and Illumina technologies, assembled and annotated. Sequence comparison with known phages revealed that four of them may represent at least new genera. The distribution of the five virulent phages into the dairy-plant environment was also investigated by PCR and three potential reservoirs were identified. This work provides new knowledge on the cheese rind viral community and an overview of the distribution of phages within a cheese factory.

Keywords

Smear-ripened cheese; virulent phages; rind bacteria; phage reservoirs; viral genomics

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

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