www.corfilac.it

Area 3 - Department 2


Laboratory of Molecular Biology


The aim of the laboratory of molecular biology is the characterization of typical microbial ecosystem of the Sicilian traditional cheeses, trying to determine the biodiversity of raw milk and his role in the development of differences in organoleptic characteristics among cheeses derived there from. Since the effects of microflora on cheese quality could be species or even strain dependant, the conventional microbial techniques, that stop to the genus level, need to be integrated with advanced molecular methods.

The use of rapid molecular approaches, based on DNA (or RNA) extraction, as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) e Temporal Temperature Gel Electrophoresis (TTGE), provides a more accurate description of microbial diversity within complex ecosystem, allowing to study the dominating microorganism to different taxonomic levels.

The integration of microbiological and molecular analysis, allows to complete the knowledge of the whole microbial ecosystem, in order to comprehend the relationship existing between microbiological and biochemical properties leading to the development of sensory characters.