Insights into Microbial Community and Its Enzymatic Profiles in Commercial Dry-Aged Beef

Overview

Journal Foods

Specialty Biotechnology

Date 2025 Feb 13

PMID 39942120

Authors

Yinchu Liu

Xiaoguang Gao

Mingwu Zang

Baozhong Sun

Songshan Zhang

Peng Xie

Xiaochang Liu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Dry-aged beef has gained interest worldwide in recent years due to its improved sensory attributes. This enhancement is thought to be partially driven by microbial activities, particularly lipolysis and proteolysis. In this study, dry-aged beef manufactured by seven commercial producers in China was analyzed. The pH value and total volatile base nitrogen value of dry-aged beef were determined. High-throughput amplicon sequencing of full-length 16S rRNA genes and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions was used to analyze the microbial community. A total of 207 proteolytic and lipolytic isolates were identified by sequencing 16S rRNA genes for bacteria and sequencing the D1/D2 region of 28S rRNA genes and the ITS region for fungi. The results revealed that the crust harbored greater numbers of bacteria and fungi than the interior. The bacterial community was dominated by species, which were core members in both the crust and interior, while was identified as a core bacterium exclusively in the crust. The fungal community primarily constituted , species, and members of the phylum Chytridiomycota. Proteolytic and lipolytic isolates were mainly identified as sp., , , (teleomorph: ), , and . Two strains of and exhibiting high proteolytic and lipolytic activities effectively hydrolyzed beef fat, myofibrillar protein, and sarcoplasmic protein. This study characterized the main microorganisms and their enzymatic functions associated with dry-aged beef, highlighting the need to explore their contributions to the sensory attributes of dry-aged beef.

References

Mikami N, Toyotome T, Yamashiro Y, Sugo K, Yoshitomi K, Takaya M . Dry-aged beef manufactured in Japan: Microbiota identification and their effects on product characteristics. Food Res Int. 2021; 140:110020. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2020.110020. View

Gong X, Chen X, Mi R, Qi B, Xiong S, Li J . Two Debaryomyces hansenii strains as starter cultures for improving the nutritional and sensory quality of dry-cured pork belly. Food Res Int. 2024; 183:114227. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114227. View

Zhang S, Sun X, Lei Y, Sun B, Xie P, Liu X . Effects of Chitosan/Collagen Peptides/Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil Composite Coating on the Quality of Dry-Aged Beef. Foods. 2022; 11(22). PMC: 9689929. DOI: 10.3390/foods11223638. View

Lee H, Yoon J, Kim M, Oh H, Yoon Y, Jo C . Changes in microbial composition on the crust by different air flow velocities and their effect on sensory properties of dry-aged beef. Meat Sci. 2019; 153:152-158. DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.03.019. View

Oh H, Lee H, Lee J, Jo C, Yoon Y . Identification of Microorganisms Associated with the Quality Improvement of Dry-Aged Beef Through Microbiome Analysis and DNA Sequencing, and Evaluation of Their Effects on Beef Quality. J Food Sci. 2019; 84(10):2944-2954. DOI: 10.1111/1750-3841.14813. View

Belleggia L, Ferrocino I, Reale A, Corvaglia M, Milanovic V, Cesaro C . Unfolding microbiota and volatile organic compounds of Portuguese Painho de Porco Preto fermented sausages. Food Res Int. 2022; 155:111063. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111063. View

Gallardo G, Ruiz-Moyano S, Hernandez A, Benito M, Cordoba M, Perez-Nevado F . Application of ISSR-PCR for rapid strain typing of Debaryomyces hansenii isolated from dry-cured Iberian ham. Food Microbiol. 2014; 42:205-11. DOI: 10.1016/j.fm.2014.03.022. View

Koutsoumanis K, Allende A, Alvarez-Ordonez A, Bover-Cid S, Chemaly M, De Cesare A . Microbiological safety of aged meat. EFSA J. 2023; 21(1):e07745. PMC: 9850206. DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7745. View

Rantsiou K, Urso R, Iacumin L, Cantoni C, Cattaneo P, Comi G . Culture-dependent and -independent methods to investigate the microbial ecology of Italian fermented sausages. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005; 71(4):1977-86. PMC: 1082564. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.71.4.1977-1986.2005. View

10.

Przybylski W, Jaworska D, Plecha M, Dukaczewska K, Ostrowski G, Salek P . Fungal Biostarter Effect on the Quality of Dry-Aged Beef. Foods. 2023; 12(6). PMC: 10048090. DOI: 10.3390/foods12061330. View

11.

Villani F, Casaburi A, Pennacchia C, Filosa L, Russo F, Ercolini D . Microbial ecology of the soppressata of Vallo di Diano, a traditional dry fermented sausage from southern Italy, and in vitro and in situ selection of autochthonous starter cultures. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007; 73(17):5453-63. PMC: 2042070. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01072-07. View

12.

Asefa D, Moretro T, Gjerde R, Langsrud S, Kure C, Sidhu M . Yeast diversity and dynamics in the production processes of Norwegian dry-cured meat products. Int J Food Microbiol. 2009; 133(1-2):135-40. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2009.05.011. View

13.

Cheng Y, Meng Y, Xu L, Yu H, Guo Y, Xie Y . Study on the Correlations between Quality Indicators of Dry-Aged Beef and Microbial Succession during Fermentation. Foods. 2024; 13(10). PMC: 11120345. DOI: 10.3390/foods13101552. View

14.

Dzialo M, Park R, Steensels J, Lievens B, Verstrepen K . Physiology, ecology and industrial applications of aroma formation in yeast. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2017; 41(Supp_1):S95-S128. PMC: 5916228. DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fux031. View

15.

Purrinos L, Carballo J, Lorenzo J . The influence of Debaryomyces hansenii, Candida deformans and Candida zeylanoides on the aroma formation of dry-cured "lacón". Meat Sci. 2012; 93(2):344-50. DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2012.09.015. View

16.

Ryu S, Park M, Maburutse B, Lee W, Park D, Cho S . Diversity and Characteristics of the Meat Microbiological Community on Dry Aged Beef. J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2017; 28(1):105-108. DOI: 10.4014/jmb.1708.08065. View

17.

Nowak A, Piotrowska M . Biochemical activities of Brochothrix thermosphacta. Meat Sci. 2011; 90(2):410-3. DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2011.08.008. View

18.

Snyder A, Martin N, Wiedmann M . Microbial food spoilage: impact, causative agents and control strategies. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2024; 22(9):528-542. DOI: 10.1038/s41579-024-01037-x. View

19.

Coton E, Dubee M, Pawtowski A, Denoyelle C, Mounier J . Microbiota associated with commercial dry-aged beef in France. Food Res Int. 2024; 181:114118. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114118. View

20.

de Melo Pereira G, Leal Maske B, de Carvalho Neto D, Karp S, De Dea Lindner J, Martin J . What Is Doing in My Food? A Review and Safety Alert on Its Use as Starter Cultures in Fermented Foods. Microorganisms. 2022; 10(9). PMC: 9502980. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10091855. View