Adhesion of Candida spp. and Pichia spp. to wooden surfaces
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Date
2017-03
Authors
Tomičić, Ružica
Tomičić, Zorica 
Raspor, Peter
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Yeast adhesion to and biofilm formation on surfaces is present in many different environments. In food industry, biofilms may be a source of contaminations, causing food spoilage and reducing quality of products. Candida and Pichia are two common yeast genera involved in the spoilage of some food products. The aim of this study is to assess the potential of Candida and Pichia species to adhere to two types of wooden surfaces (smooth and rough), one of the materials typical for the food processing industry, and investigate the influence of surface roughness of wood on the degree of yeast adhesion. The adhesion of the cells to the wooden surfaces was determined by rinsing them from the surface, followed by methylene blue staining, and quantification after imaging under microscope by automatic counting of viable cells. The results showed that all Candida and Pichia strains were able to adhere to the wooden surfaces in a species- and strain-dependent manner. On the other hand, our data indicated that adhesion by these yeasts was not significantly affected by the roughness of the wood surfaces.
Description
peer-reviewed
Keywords
adhesion, yeast, Candida spp, Pichia spp, wood surfaces
Citation
Tomičić, R., Tomičić, Z., Raspor, P. (2017) Adhesion of Candida spp. and Pichia spp. to wooden surfaces. Food Technology and Biotechnology, 55, 1, 138–142. DOI:10.17113/ftb.55.01.17.4514