Characterization of microbial community composition and pathogens risk assessment in typical Italian-style salami by high-throughput sequencing technology

The structure of microbial communities in a typical Italian-style salami, including bacterial and fungal diversity, was investigated by high-throughput sequencing technology. A total of 6 phyla, 7 classes, 19 orders, 20 families and 28 genera were obtained from 16S rDNA sequences, and a total of 2 phyla, 4 classes, 4 orders, 5 families, 10 genera and 12 Species were obtained from 18S rDNA sequences. The core microbiota was composed of Staphylococcaceae, representing up to 97.52% of the total 16S rRNA, and Penicillium digitatum, accounting for 99.74% of the total classified 18S rRNA. Lactobacillales and Saccharomycetales were detected with a quite low proportion of 1.71 and 0.007%, respectively. This study contributes to the knowledge of the microbial diversity involved in salami and presents high-throughput sequencing as a useful tool to evaluate microbial diversity and monitor the food-borne pathogens in fermented sausage.