Genotypic diversity and antagonistic activities of enterococci isolated from pastırma

The biodiversity of enterococci from pastırma (a traditional Turkish dry-cured meat product) by genotypic identification and the antagonistic activities of strains were investigated. Pastırma samples taken from 20 different small-scale factories were subjected to microbiological and physicochemical analysis. A hundred enterococci isolates were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. To determine antagonistic activity of strains, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus were used. The lactic acid bacteria and Micrococcus/Staphylococcus counts were ≥ 6 log cfu/g in 55% of the samples and 75% of the samples, respectively. Enterobacteriaceae was generally below the detectable level (< 2 log cfu/g). The enterococci count was higher than 6 log cfu/g in 30–35% of the samples, depending on the medium used. The enterococci isolates (100 isolates) were identified as E. faecium (80 strains), E. faecalis (19 strains) and E. hirae (1 strain) in genotypic identification. The nine E. faecium strains showed antagonistic activity against L. monocytogenes in the well diffusion test. In contrast, in the same antagonistic activity test, all of the strains had no antagonistic activity against S. aureus. Further studies could be planned to characterize E. faecium strains that show antagonistic activity against L. monocytogenes.