Synthesis of an autochthonous microbial community by analyzing the core microorganisms responsible for the critical flavor of bran vinegar

Metagenomics profiling of the microbial community and functional differences in solid-state fermentation vinegar starter (seed Pei) from different Chinese regions

“…Further research on these “dark matter” organisms is essential to unravel the fermentation mechanisms of vinegar. While the main microbial species composition of the seed Pei observed in this study aligns with previous findings (Nie et al, 2017 ; Huang et al, 2022 ; Li et al, 2023 , 2024 ), consisting primarily of acetic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Acetobacter, Limosilactobacillus , and Acetilactobacillus , the specific species composition and abundance vary among different regions.…”

“…However, in the four seed Pei samples we collected, Enhydrobacter and Gluconacetobacter were not detected, while Bacillus (> 0.005%), Staphylococcus (> 0.02%), and Lactococcus (> 0.1%) were found to be present but in low abundance. Another study identified 11 core functional microorganisms in Sichuan Shai vinegar using PacBio sequencing combined with the traditional culture method, namely Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Pichia kudriavzevii, Acetobacter pasteurianus, Acetobacter pomorums, Lactobacillus acetotolerans, Lactobacillus amylolyticus, Lactobacillus amylovorus, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus plantarum, Clostridium beijerinckii , and Lichtheimia ramose (Li et al, 2024 ). The core functional microorganisms identified in this study were also detected in our seed Pei , and the effects of the acid-producing microorganisms were consistent with our results.…”

“…The microbial community succession occurs during each batch of fermentation, resulting in the production of substances that impart flavor to vinegar through microbial metabolism (Wang et al, 2016 ). Although extensive studies have elucidated microbial succession and its correlation with the synthesis of flavor compounds during a particular vinegar fermentation (Li et al, 2016b , 2024 ; Huang et al, 2022 ), there is a lack of comparative studies on microbial communities across different SSF vinegar staters. Isolating and culturing microorganisms from these substrates pose significant challenges as they are difficult to grow on existing culture media (Milanović et al, 2018 ).…”

A systematic discussion and comparison of the construction methods of synthetic microbial community

“…These microorganisms affected the fermentation flavor of Sichuan sun vinegar, as shown by metabolic network analysis, symbiosis analysis and functional screening. Synthetic microbial community constructed from these 11 strains provided Sichuan sun vinegar with key flavors and facilitated the production of amino acid [ 99 ]. Qiao et al isolated 394 rhizosphere bacteria from field-grown grafted watermelon plants and, through statistical analysis, selected 16 core strains to construct a synthetic microbial community.…”