Bacteriocinogenic properties of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Bulgarian feta cheese and Brazilian prato cheese against Listeria monocytogenes: Bacteriocin, an ally in the control of listeriosis

This study explores the bacteriocinogenic properties of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Latilactobacillus curvatus, and Pediococcus acidilactici against Listeria monocytogenes, strains isolated from Bulgarian feta cheese and Brazilian prato cheese. These bacteriocinogenic strains, when subjected to genotypic tests, showed the presence of the pedPA-1 gene related to pediocin synthesis. It was observed the stability of these produced bacteriocins when exposed to a wide range of temperatures, pH, and chemicals, maintaining their antimicrobial activity against different serovars of L. monocytogenes. The supernatant containing bacteriocin from the strains studied here inhibited the growth of different strains of L. monocytogenes during 9h of incubation. Regarding the safety of the studied strains, in addition to physiological and biochemical tests, only 3 of 24 genes related to vancomycin resistance and virulence were found in the strain's DNA, with IS16 in Lbs. paracasei ST0110KOC and the ace gene in Lpb. plantarum.