Lactococcus Bacteriophages Isolated from Whey and Their Effects on Commercial Lactic Starters

The incidence of phages of lactic acid bacteria in milk industry and their effects on acidification ability of commercial lactic acid starters were studied. Cheese whey samples (33 samples) were collected from 17 factories. A total of 16 bacteriophages were isolated (12 specific for Lactococcus lactis, 3 for L. diacetylactis and one capable of lysing both species). The results showed that 10 % reduction in acidification tests was not good indication of phage in the sample. The majority of samples showed reduction higher than 10%, although only 65 % were phage positive. The isolated phages were quite stable and showed no reduction in infectivity even after 20 daily replications. A pool of bacteriophages was prepared from isolates and inoculated in 12 commercial lactic starters. After 8 hours of incubation, only 2 showed reduced acidification. Bacterial strains isolated from commercial starters were tested regarding the phage resistance. Considerable difference in phage sensitivity was observed among different starters (BD, D, O and L. diacetylactis). Five bacteriophages showed no infectivity on any isolates but one was infective for most of isolates