Microbial interactions shape cheese flavour formation

Chrats Melkonian (), Francisco Zorrilla, Inge Kjærbølling, Sonja Blasche, Daniel Machado, Mette Junge, Kim Ib Sørensen, Lene Tranberg Andersen, Kiran R. Patil and Ahmad A. Zeidan ()
Additional contact information
Chrats Melkonian: R&D Digital Innovation, Chr. Hansen A/S
Francisco Zorrilla: University of Cambridge
Inge Kjærbølling: R&D Digital Innovation, Chr. Hansen A/S
Sonja Blasche: University of Cambridge
Daniel Machado: European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Mette Junge: R&D Food Microbiology, Chr. Hansen A/S
Kim Ib Sørensen: R&D Food Microbiology, Chr. Hansen A/S
Lene Tranberg Andersen: Food Cultures & Enzymes, Chr. Hansen A/S
Kiran R. Patil: University of Cambridge
Ahmad A. Zeidan: R&D Digital Innovation, Chr. Hansen A/S

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Cheese fermentation and flavour formation are the result of complex biochemical reactions driven by the activity of multiple microorganisms. Here, we studied the roles of microbial interactions in flavour formation in a year-long Cheddar cheese making process, using a commercial starter culture containing Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactococcus strains. By using an experimental strategy whereby certain strains were left out from the starter culture, we show that S. thermophilus has a crucial role in boosting Lactococcus growth and shaping flavour compound profile. Controlled milk fermentations with systematic exclusion of single Lactococcus strains, combined with genomics, genome-scale metabolic modelling, and metatranscriptomics, indicated that S. thermophilus proteolytic activity relieves nitrogen limitation for Lactococcus and boosts de novo nucleotide biosynthesis. While S. thermophilus had large contribution to the flavour profile, Lactococcus cremoris also played a role by limiting diacetyl and acetoin formation, which otherwise results in an off-flavour when in excess. This off-flavour control could be attributed to the metabolic re-routing of citrate by L. cremoris from diacetyl and acetoin towards α-ketoglutarate. Further, closely related Lactococcus lactis strains exhibited different interaction patterns with S. thermophilus, highlighting the significance of strain specificity in cheese making. Our results highlight the crucial roles of competitive and cooperative microbial interactions in shaping cheese flavour profile.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41059-2

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