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Characterization of the Bacterial Community Naturally Present on Commercially Grown Basil Leaves: Evaluation of Sample Preparation Prior to Culture-Independent Techniques

Author

Listed:
  • Siele Ceuppens

    (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation (LFMFP), Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium)

  • Stefanie Delbeke

    (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation (LFMFP), Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium)

  • Dieter De Coninck

    (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutics, Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (LabFBT), Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium)

  • Jolien Boussemaere

    (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation (LFMFP), Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium)

  • Nico Boon

    (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Biochemical and Microbial Technology, Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium)

  • Mieke Uyttendaele

    (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation (LFMFP), Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium)

Abstract

Fresh herbs such as basil constitute an important food commodity worldwide. Basil provides considerable culinary and health benefits, but has also been implicated in foodborne illnesses. The naturally occurring bacterial community on basil leaves is currently unknown, so the epiphytic bacterial community was investigated using the culture-independent techniques denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and next-generation sequencing (NGS). Sample preparation had a major influence on the results from DGGE and NGS: Novosphingobium was the dominant genus for three different basil batches obtained by maceration of basil leaves, while washing of the leaves yielded lower numbers but more variable dominant bacterial genera including Klebsiella, Pantoea, Flavobacterium, Sphingobacterium and Pseudomonas . During storage of basil, bacterial growth and shifts in the bacterial community were observed with DGGE and NGS. Spoilage was not associated with specific bacterial groups and presumably caused by physiological tissue deterioration and visual defects, rather than by bacterial growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Siele Ceuppens & Stefanie Delbeke & Dieter De Coninck & Jolien Boussemaere & Nico Boon & Mieke Uyttendaele, 2015. "Characterization of the Bacterial Community Naturally Present on Commercially Grown Basil Leaves: Evaluation of Sample Preparation Prior to Culture-Independent Techniques," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-27, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:8:p:10171-10197:d:54600
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    Cited by:

    1. Mieke Uyttendaele & Eelco Franz & Oliver Schlüter, 2015. "Food Safety, a Global Challenge," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-6, December.

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