Technological and functional potentials of indigenous yeasts from traditional Tulum cheese
摘要
This study aimed to characterize indigenous yeasts from Tulum cheese as potential starter/adjunct cultures through molecular, technological, probiotic, and postbiotic analyses. Yeasts were isolated from four Tulum batches during the ripening process. Based on interspecific genetic diversity assessed by iPBS and SCoT markers, the isolates were identified as Debaryomyces hansenii, Wickerhamomyces anomalus, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Kluyveromyces lactis, K. marxianus, Pichia kudriavzevii, P. membranifaciens, Yarrowia lipolytica, and Geotrichum candidum by ITS sequencing. Genetically diverse strains were selected and subjected to technological characterization. Principal component analysis highlighted K. lactis and K. marxianus strains mainly for their acidification ability, proteolytic activity, acetoin production, and carbon assimilation profiles. In vitro probiotic evaluations further distinguished K. marxianus TP3M11, TP3M28, and K. lactis TP4M30 for their high tolerance to simulated gastric conditions, elevated cell surface hydrophobicity, and their postbiotics’ strong antioxidant capacity and biofilm inhibition capacity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25,923. These findings support the potential application of selected yeast strains as multifunctional cultures in food biotechnology.