Premium
An adapted isolation procedure reveals Photobacterium spp. as common spoilers on modified atmosphere packaged meats
Author(s) -
Hilgarth M.,
FuertesPèrez S.,
Ehrmann M.,
Vogel R.F.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/lam.12860
Subject(s) - photobacterium phosphoreum , photobacterium , food spoilage , biology , food science , modified atmosphere , meat spoilage , isolation (microbiology) , vibrio , shelf life , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , genetics
The genus Photobacterium comprises species of marine bacteria, commonly found in open‐ocean and deep‐sea environments. Some species (e.g. Photobacterium phosphoreum ) are associated with fish spoilage. Recently, culture‐independent studies have drawn attention to the presence of photobacteria on meat. This study employed a comparative isolation approach of Photobacterium spp. and aimed to develop an adapted isolation procedure for recovery from food samples, as demonstrated for different meats: Marine broth is used for resuspending and dilution of food samples, followed by aerobic cultivation on marine broth agar supplemented with meat extract and vancomycin at 15°C for 72 h. Identification of spoilage‐associated microbiota was carried out via Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry using a database supplemented with additional mass spectrometry profiles of Photobacterium spp. This study provides evidence for the common abundance of multiple Photobacterium species in relevant quantities on various modified atmosphere packaged meats. Photobacterium carnosum was predominant on beef and chicken, while Photobacterium iliopiscarium represented the major species on pork and Photobacterium phosphoreum on salmon, respectively. Significance and Impact of the Study This study demonstrates highly frequent isolation of multiple photobacteria ( Photobacterium carnosum, Photobacterium phosphoreum, and Photobacterium iliopiscarium ) from different modified‐atmosphere packaged spoiled and unspoiled meats using an adapted isolation procedure. The abundance of photobacteria in high numbers provides evidence for the hitherto neglected importance and relevance of Photobacterium spp. to meat spoilage.