Abstract
Goat cheese is an important element of the Mediterranean diet, appreciated for its health-promoting features and unique taste. A pivotal role in the development of these characteristics is attributed to the microbiota and its continuous remodeling over space and time. Nevertheless, no thorough study of the cheese-associated microbiota using two metaomics approaches has previously been conducted. Here, we employed 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metaproteomics to explore the microbiota of a typical raw goat milk cheese at various ripening timepoints and depths of the cheese wheel. The 16S rRNA gene-sequencing and metaproteomics results described a stable microbiota ecology across the selected ripening timepoints, providing evidence for the microbiologically driven fermentation of goat milk products. The important features of the microbiota harbored on the surface and in the core of the cheese mass were highlighted in both compositional and functional terms. We observed the rind microbiota struggling to maintain the biosafety of the cheese through competition mechanisms and/or by preventing the colonization of the cheese by pathobionts of animal or environmental origin. The core microbiota was focused on other biochemical processes, supporting its role in the development of both the health benefits and the pleasant gustatory nuances of goat cheese.