PRJNA729248
Comparative metagenomics reveals microbial communities and their associated functions in two types of Fuzhuan brick tea
Fuzhuan brick tea (FBT) is a unique post-fermented tea product, naturally co-fermented by microorganisms, and has gained global popularity due to its potential health benefits for humans. Considerable efforts have been made towards elucidating the microbial diversity within FBT, but an understanding of the underlying FBT community interactions and functions remains poorly studied. Consequently, the microbial communities of two types FBT were investigated using comparative shotgun metagenomic sequencing and functional annotations. Two samples exhibited highly similar communities (78% consistency). However, FBT_H community diversity was higher (612 genera) than that of the FBT_S (497 genera), despite that Pseudomonas contributed most to the abundant functions within the two samples. The carbohydrate active enzyme functions of the communities primarily comprised GH (32.92%), GT (26.8%), CEs (20.43%) and AAs (18.04%). Further, the overall metabolic pathways encoded by the metagenomes were largely associated with carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, with nine metabolic pathways that were differential between two groups including penicillin and cephalosporin biosynthesis. Moreover, a total of 35 potential probiotics were inferred, with Pseudomonas putida being the most abundant inferred probiotic (80%) within the FBT communities. This study provides new insights into FBT microbial communities on their potential functions and roles in FBT characteristics