Coordinator: University of Bologna
Scientific Officer: Giulia Tabanelli
Duration: 14/10/2023 - 13/10/2025
Research group: Giulia Tabanelli, Fausto Gardini.
Lactobacillus helveticus (LH), a LAB species associated to natural whey starters (NWS) for traditional cheeses, revealed a great phenotypic and genotypic biodiversity, also in the same ecosystem.
Since the mechanisms driving the selection of LH in dairy environment are still unclear, the main aim of Helv4DairHy project is the comparison of genotypic and phenotypic variability of LH strains isolated from NWS of 50 years ago with those currently present in the same environment.
The project will shed a light on the LH adaptation to NWS dynamics due to technological or abiotic changes, to select autochthonous starters supporting traditional cheese-making and to exploit strains for new products with improved functional and quality features.