Microbial Community Dynamics of Kefir Grains and Kefir Across Successive Generations Under Ecological Intervention
Kefir grains and kefir represent two distinct forms of natural microbial communities. Kefir grains consist of a three dimensional scaffold of polysaccharides and proteins that supports a structured microbial ecosystem, while kefir produced from these grains represents a free living microbial community. In this study, functional probiotic strains were introduced into both community types to impose multi generation ecological interventions. Microbial community shifts across different intervention generations were analyzed to characterize the dynamic responses and succession patterns of structured versus free living kefir microbial ecosystems.