Psychrophilic Photobacteria

Psychrophilic photobacteria are hitherto known as free-living deep sea bacteria or symbionts in the light organs of deep sea fishes. Furthermore, their potential to spoil fish and sea food products is deeply studied. However, novel recent culture-independent studies as well as the discovery of a novel terrestrial species of photobacteria demonstrated their abundance on fresh meats and their contribution to meat spoilage. In this project a control of these bacteria is aspired as well as identification of their contamination routes, minimization of contamination and development of novel detection methods. Furthermore, insights in the in situ metabolism, response to modified atmosphere packaging as well as interaction with other members of the spoilage microbiome is aspired by applying (meta-)omic-approaches.