Yeast biodiversity in chickpea sourdoughs and comparison of the microbiological and chemical characteristics of the spontaneous chickpea fermentations

Abstract

Chickpea bread is a traditional bread type produced by chickpea fermentation. In this study, totally 12 chickpea liquid starter and dough samples were collected during chickpea fermentations conducted at three commercial bakeries located in Turkey at two different seasons. Also, laboratory‐scale chickpea fermentation was performed at two different temperatures. Various microbiological and chemical characteristics were analyzed. Multivariate statistical analysis was conducted for comparison of the samples depending on the different characteristics. Yeast biodiversity was identified by subjecting all presumptive yeast cultures to ITS region amplification of 5.8S rRNA gene, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), and 26S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Totally, 59 yeast strains were identified at the species level as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (40.7%), Candida parapsilosis (33.9%), Meyerozyma guilliermondii (20.3%), Pichia fermentans (3.4%), and Cryptococcus albidosimilis (1.7%). Different biochemical patterns were observed among samples, due to different production environments, fermentation conditions, and raw materials related to artisan and region‐dependent production. Novelty impact statement Some samples showed a rich yeast species diversity and yeast belong to six genera were isolated from the chickpea fermentations. Saccharomyces cerevisiae dominated the chickpea fermentations. Different production techniques affect the chemical and microbiological composition and samples produced in different places exhibit different biochemical patterns.