Mucor lanceolatus (fungus) and Serratia proteamaculans (bacteria). Bacteria on this French and Swiss cheese use moulds as low-friction highways to spread across the cheese surface—an example of fungi and bacteria working together. The cheese is lower in fat, which the microbes feed on; that reduces the extent and pace of microbial activity.
Photograph by Photos: Rebecca Hale, NGM Staff; Benjamin E. Wolfe (Microbes)Geotrichum candidum (fungus). The rind of this creamy Vermont cheese is dominated by a fungus. The mould gives the rind a wrinkled appearance. While the inside is mild and lemony, the rind is potent and intense, “like sweet buttery flatulence,” says microbiologist Benjamin Wolfe.
Photograph by Photos: Rebecca Hale, NGM Staff; Benjamin E. Wolfe (Microbes)Staphylococcus succinus, S. xylosus (bacteria), and Penicillium commune (fungus). This variety of blue cheese brims with unique microbial behaviour. Fungi wage open battle for territory by producing antibacterial compounds. Researchers also have documented that some microbes change with each new generation, similar to the way animals evolve.
Photograph by Photos: Rebecca Hale, NGM Staff; Benjamin E. Wolfe (Microbes)Vibrio casei, Psychrobacter sp., and Halomonas sp. (bacteria). This Vermont cheese contains a mix of yeast and bacteria. As with some other washed-rind cheeses, Winnimere hosts marine bacteria, likely from the brines and sea salts used to produce it. The moist and salty cheese offers prime conditions for these microbes to flourish.
Photograph by Photos: Rebecca Hale, NGM Staff; Benjamin E. Wolfe (Microbes)