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Abstract

The objective of this paper was to study the microbial quality characteristics and diversity of Koumiss koji (fermented dairy product from mare's milk) in four different regions of Mongolia, which provides data for a comprehensive understanding of the composition of acid Koumiss koji (assets) and lays a foundation for the development and utilization of strain resources in traditional fermented dairy products. Using High-throughput sequencing of the V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene, we determined the community composition of bacteria from 12 samples of Koumiss koji (assets) sampled from four different areas of Mongolia: Bulgan province, Arkhangai province, Uvurkhangai province, and Tuv province. Alpha diversity analysis showed that there were significant differences in the bacterial diversity of Koumiss koji (assets) from four different regions (P < 0.05). Bacterial diversity was most important in samples from the Tuv province, while species richness was highest in samples from the Bulgan province. Bacterial community composition analysis revealed 16 bacterial species in the 12 samples, of which Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were predominant in all four regions. There were 117 bacterial genera, of which Lactobacillus was predominant in all four regions. The results demonstrate that bacterial diversity in Koumiss koji (assets), the traditional starter cultures for Koumiss, from the four different regions of Mongolia, is related to geographical location.