Identification of Species Interacting with Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Formation from Food Microbiota Using 16S rRNA Metagenomic Analysis

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus biofilm is a major contamination concern in the food processing environment. S. aureus constructs complex biofilms with environmental species, but its inter-species interactions are not well. In this study, 16S rRNA metagenomic analysis was used to identify interactors for S. aureus biofilm formation. Fifty-six microbiota samples extracted from retail foods were employed to construct biofilms with S. aureus ATCC12600 on stainless steel. Then, the composition of the microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA metagenomic analysis and compared with the number of S. aureus cells in the biofilm. As a result, 22 genera, especially Serratia sp. and Enterobacter sp., were suggested to be remarkably effective inhibitors of S. aureus biofilm formation. Furthermore, Serratia sp. 19-SA-0058-001 was isolated, and its inhibitory effect was confirmed. The present study demonstrated efficient strategy to identify an interactor from complex microflora.