The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of LZ in
cheese with respect to both the microbial populations and proteolysis pathways responsible of cheese ripening. In particular, the
focus was on Grana Padano PDO cheese, usually made with LZ and
extensively studied for its microbial and chemical features
(Pellegrino et al., 1997; Masotti et al., 2010; Santarelli et al., 2013;
Pogacic et al., 2013). Eight cheese makings were therefore conducted at four different dairies, using in parallel, the same milk
either added or not with LZ. The 16 derived cheeses were analyzed
after 9 months of ripening, i.e. the minimum ripening period for
Grana Padano PDO cheese, and after 16 months. The microbial
populations were characterized by Length Heterogeneity-PCR (LHPCR) considering both the intact and lysed cells. Furthermore, the
free amino acids (FAA) patterns of the cheeses were evaluated.
Since FAA mostly result from the action of intracellular proteinases
and peptidases released after the bacterial cell lysis, different patterns could be expected between cheeses produced with and
without addition of LZ