Fluorescence in situ hybridization for detection of classical propionibacteria with specific 16S rRNA-targeted probes and its application to enumeration in Gruyère cheese.

The classical or dairy propionibacteria have well-documented industrial applications and have been proposed for probiotic applications. Given their industrial importance it is necessary to employ fast and reliable techniques to monitor the growth during products elaboration, industrial fermentations or the intestinal transit. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to design oligonucleotide probes targeting the 16S rRNA of dairy propionibacteria and optimise the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) protocol to detect these bacteria.