Sara Burgess

Doctor of Philosophy, (Microbiology)
Study Completed: 2016
College of Health

Citation

Thesis Title
Characterisation of dairy strains of Geobacillus stearothermophilus and a genomics insight into its growth and survival during dairy manufacture

Read article at Massey Research Online: MRO icon

The thermophilic bacilli, for example the species Geobacillus stearothermophilus, are an important group of spoilage bacteria that grow during milk powder manufacture. Although they are not capable of producing disease, their growth may result in changes to the quality of the milk product because of the production of acids or enzymes. Mrs Burgess isolated strains of G. stearothermophilus from a milk powder manufacturing plant and identified differences in their characteristics that may be important for their growth and survival during milk powder manufacture. In addition, the genomes of selected strains were sequenced providing important new genomic insights into how these bacteria have adapted to grow in a dairy environment

Supervisors
Professor Steve Flint
Dr Denise Lindsay
Dr Roberto Kolter
Professor Patrick Biggs