Scientists from Novosibirsk have discovered a special virus - a bacteriophage that can destroy bacteria that spoil raw and pasteurized milk during storage at low temperatures. This information was reported by the press service of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine (ICBFM) SB RAS.
Raw milk is stored at a lowered temperature before processing. Natural Pseudomonas bacteria, entering chilled raw milk, multiply in it and produce thermostable enzymes, such as proteases and lipases. Unlike bacteria, their enzymes can remain in milk even after pasteurization, making it unsuitable for consumption.
One way to prevent spoilage of raw milk is to use bacteriophages, which can destroy these harmful bacteria. Currently, there are very few descriptions of such bacteriophages, mainly in foreign studies.
"Novosibirsk scientists have discovered and described a new bacteriophage that effectively destroys cells of proteolytic Pseudomonas, including at low temperatures. The bacteriophage was isolated from samples of water taken from the Katun River in the Altai Mountains. It underwent analysis of its biological properties, bacterial hosts set, and full genome," the press service reported.
Scientists found that the virus is capable of destroying cells of various proteolytic strains of these bacteria and can be used to prevent bacterial contamination of raw milk. This is especially relevant for long-term storage milk and the dairy industry.
