# Microbiota \"Fingerprint\" of Greek Feta Cheese through Ripening
## 3 Results
### Microbiological Analysis of Feta Cheese
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Appearance in Samples (\%) 1**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Number of Isolates 2**} \\ \hline  & **3 Months** & **6 Months** & **3 Months** & **6 Months** \\ \hline _Lactococcus lactis_ & 13.0 & 8.7 & 2 & 2 \\ _Lactobacillus rhamnosus_ & 13.0 & 17.4 & 4 & 5 \\ _Lactobacillus curvatus_ & 8.7 & 8.7 & 3 & 3 \\ _Lactobacillus plantarum_ & 100.0 & 87.0 & 31 & 47 \\ _Lactobacillus paraplantarum_ & 4.3 & 26.1 & 2 & 7 \\ _Lactobacillus brevis_ & 56.5 & 73.9 & 14 & 29 \\ _Lactobacillus pentosus_ & 4.3 & 0.0 & 2 & ND \\ _Lactobacillus fermentation_ & 8.7 & 0.0 & 3 & ND \\ _Lactobacillus paracasei_ & 56.5 & 39.1 & 13 & 14 \\ _Lactobacillus corniformis_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 2 \\ _Lactobacillus delbrueckii_ & 4.3 & 0.0 & 2 & ND \\ _Lactobacillus krifi_ & 4.3 & 0.0 & 1 & ND \\ _Enterococcus drums_ & 13.0 & 17.4 & 6 & 4 \\ _Enterococcus fracitum_ & 34.8 & 17.4 & 9 & 21 \\ _Enterococcus faecalis_ & 47.8 & 43.5 & 14 & 13 \\ _Enterococcus malodoratus_ & 4.3 & 4.3 & 1 & 1 \\ _Leuconstoc fallax_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 1 \\ _Staphylococcus sapruptivicus_ & 4.3 & 0.0 & 1 & ND \\ _Staphylococcus equorum_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 1 \\ _Staphylococcus haemolyticus_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 1 \\ _Staphylococcus epidermidis_ & 0.0 & 13.0 & ND & 2 \\ _Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus_ & 21.7 & 30.4 & 6 & 6 \\ _Pediococcus pentosaceus_ & 8.7 & 0.0 & 3 & ND \\ _Pediococcus acidilactici_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 2 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Occurrence (% appearance in samples and number of isolates) of strains isolated from Feta cheese samples according to their ripening time (three vs. six months). In total, 253 out of 290 isolates (87.20%) were classified to five LAB genera as: for three months of ripening, two isolates of _Lactococcus lactis_, 75 isolates of Lactobacillus genus (10 species), 30 isolates of Enterococcus genus (4 species), and three isolates of _Pediococcus pentosaceus_. For six months of ripening, the LAB genera were classified as: two isolates of _Lactococcus lactis_, 107 isolates of Lactobacillus genus (7 species), 39 isolates of Enterococcus (4 species), one isolate for Leuconstoc genus (_Leuconstoc fallax_), and four isolates of Pediococcus genus (three species). Most of these LAB species belong to the Lactobacillus genus (75 isolates for three months of ripening and 107 isolates for six months of ripening out of 290 strains, 25.9% and 36.9% respectively). Some other identified microbial species were found in small number of isolates and included _Kluyveromyces lactis_ (identified in 13.0% and 13.0% of samples from the three and six months of ripening periods, respectively), _Lactococcus lactis_ (13.0% and 8.7%), _Leuconstoc fallax_ (0.0% and 4.3%), _Pediococcus pentosaceus_ (8.7% and 0.0%), _Candida lusitaniae_ (4.3% and 0.0%), _Kocuria kristinae_ (4.3% and 0.0%), _Bacillus cereus_ (0.0% and 4.3%), _Corynebacterium flavescens_ (0.0% and 4.3%), and _Microococcus luteus_ (4.3% and 0.0%). Major pathogenic  
Figure 1: Krona chart presenting all isolates of microorganisms from Feta cheese samples after three months-ripening time. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Appearance in Samples (\%) 1**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Number of Isolates 2**} \\ \hline  & **3 Months** & **6 Months** & **3 Months** & **6 Months** \\ \hline _Pediococcus parvulus_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 2 \\ _Candida lusitaniae_ & 4.3 & 0.0 & 2 & ND \\ _Kocuria kristinae_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 1 \\ _Bacillus cereus_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 1 \\ _Corynebacterium flavescens_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 2 \\ _Kluyveromyces lactis_ & 13.0 & 13.0 & 1 & 2 \\ _Microococcus luteus_ & 0.0 & 4.3 & ND & 1 \\ \hline TOTAL & - & - & 117 & 173 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: _Cont._bacteria (_Listeria monocytogenes_, _Salmonella spp_, _Enterobacteriaceae_, and _Coagulase-Positive Staphylococcus_) were absent in all tested samples.