Safety Evaluation of Enterocin Producer Enterococcus sp. Strains Isolated from Traditional Turkish Cheeses
The purpose of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity and the occurrence of bacteriocin structural genes in Enterococcus spp. isolated from different cheeses and also investigate of their some virulence factors. Enterococcus strains were isolated from 33 different cheeses. Enterococcus faecium (6 strains) and Enterococcus faecalis (5 strains) enterocin-producing strains were identified by 16S rDNA analyses. entA, entB, entP and entX structural genes were detected in some isolates. Multiple enterocin structural genes were found in 7 strains. None of the tested enterococci demonstrated β-haemolytic activity and only one strain has gelatinase activity. Six strains showed multiple antibiotic resistance patterns and in addition, vanA and several virulence genes were detected in many strains. Only E. faecalis MBE1-9 showed tyrosine decarboxylase activity and tdc gene was only detected in this strain.