title: Microbiota dynamics related to environmental conditions during the fermentative production of Fen-Daqu, a Chinese industrial fermentation starter.
abstract: Chinese Daqu is used as a starter for liquor and vinegar fermentations. It is produced by solid state fermentation of cereal-pulse mixtures. A succession of fungi, lactic acid bacteria and Bacillus spp. was observed during the production of Daqu. Mesophilic bacteria followed by fungi, dominated the first phase of fermentation. Next, lactic acid bacteria increased in relative abundance, resulting in an increase of the acidity of Daqu. At the final stages of fermentation, Bacillus spp. and thermophilic fungi became the dominant groups, possibly due to their tolerance to low water activity and high temperature. Both culture-dependent and culture-independent analyses confirmed that Bacillus spp. were ubiquitous throughout the process. Yeast species such as Wickerhamomyces anomalus, Saccharomycopsis fibuligera and Pichia kudriavzevii were present throughout almost the entire fermentation process, but the zygomycetous fungus Lichtheimia corymbifera proliferated only during the final stages of fermentation. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed the significance of acidity, moisture content and temperature in correlation with the composition of the microbial communities at different stages.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: xiaowei.zheng@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Xiao-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: bioyanzheng@126.com.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: rob.nout@wur.nl.
authors.forename: M J Robert
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Nout
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: eddy.smid@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Eddy J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Smid
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: marcel.zwietering@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Marcel H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Zwietering
authors.affiliation: CBS Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: t.boekhout@cbs.knaw.nl.
authors.forename: Teun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boekhout
authors.affiliation: Shanxi Xinghuacun Fenjiu Distillery Co. Ltd., Fenyang 032205, Shanxi, China. Electronic address: hanjianshu2013@163.com.
authors.forename: Jian-Shu
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: hbz@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bei-Zhong
authors.initials: BZ
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D044822:Biodiversity; D002681:China; D005285:Fermentation; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007218:Industrial Microbiology; D064307:Microbiota / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D019342:Acetic Acid
keywords: Bacteria; Canonical correspondence analysis; Culture-independent; Daqu; Fungi; Starter culture