Antimicrobial activity of Wickerhamomyces anomalus mycocins against strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from meats

Abstract Staphylococcus aureus is among the major pathogens involved in food poisoning, and meat contaminated with S. aureus coagulase positive is considered a public health risk because the bacterium is resistant to several conventional antimicrobials. Mycocins are substances produced by yeasts that secrete glycoproteins, which can also be called toxin killers, they have an inhibitory action on other microorganisms. The Wickerhamomyces anomalus, is one of the microorganisms capable of producing these mycocins, resulting in the action of disturbances on the cell wall of the pathogen causing deleterious effects. This work aims to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the mycocins produced by W. anomalus WA45 against the 29 strains of S. aureus coagulase positive isolated from bovine, porcine and chicken meat and 1 standard strain. The antimicrobial action of the mycocins present on the culture supernatant of W. anomalus WA45 was tested by microdilution and the results were satisfactory, since 100% inhibition of strains of S. aureus coagulase positive. We concluded that the mycocins present in the supernatant of W. anomalus WA45 showed antimicrobial action, being candidates for the development of new products for the biocontrol and bioconservation of meat.