Evolution of Microbial Communities during Food Fermentation

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Metabolism, Physiology & Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 8453

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Marketing and Technology of Aquatic Products and Foods, Department of Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece
Interests: food microbiology; molecular microbiology; fermentation; food biotechnology; food spoilage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fermentation is among the most well-known processes applied in food production since antiquity, and its socioeconomic significance is invaluable. This natural process is the result of microbial metabolic activity. The microbial profile changes significantly during food fermentation (from raw to final product), while the metabolites produced mainly by the dominant microbiota shape the sensorial attributes of the final product. Thus, studying the evolution of microbial communities during food fermentation processing is of great interest, not only to determine the microbiota of the final product but also to enrich our knowledge around a) how microbial communities are changing during processing, b) under which circumstances specific microbial groups predominate against others and drive the whole process, and c) which microbial groups come from raw product and its microenvironment. The latter may contribute to developing a potential linkage between a fermented food with a specific environment (region, terroir, etc.) and thus increase the added value of the product. Today, the determination of microbial communities present in a food sample is routinely studied by both conventional (culture-dependent and/or culture-independent) and modernized molecular approaches (high-throughput sequencing), such as metabarcoding analysis.

For all the aforementioned reasons, the present Special Issue aims to collect both original research and review articles that enrich current knowledge about microbial changes during fermentation (i.e. initial, middle, final stage) of a variety of foods and beverages (dairy products, vegetables, meat products, seafood, alcoholic drinks, etc.), using either conventional or modernized approaches as described above. Studies combining microbial with metabolite profiles during fermentation are also welcome.

Dr. Dimitrios A. Anagnostopoulos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fermentation
  • fermented foods and beverages
  • microbiota
  • culture-dependent techniques
  • culture-independent techniques
  • high-throughput sequencing
  • microbial terroir
  • metabolites

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 7199 KiB  
Article
Molecular and Technological Characterization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from Sourdough
by Furkan Aydın, Tacettin Utku Günen, Halil İbrahim Kahve, Emrah Güler, Göksel Özer, Yeşim Aktepe and İbrahim Çakır
Fermentation 2023, 9(4), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9040329 - 25 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1946
Abstract
DNA markers help detect the intraspecific genetic diversity of yeast strains. Eight ISSR (Inter Simple Sequence Repeats) primers were used to assess the intraspecific diversity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (n = 96) from different populations (n = 3), evaluate the technological characteristics, and [...] Read more.
DNA markers help detect the intraspecific genetic diversity of yeast strains. Eight ISSR (Inter Simple Sequence Repeats) primers were used to assess the intraspecific diversity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (n = 96) from different populations (n = 3), evaluate the technological characteristics, and investigate trait-loci associations. The primers amplified 154 reproducible and scorable bands, of which 79.87% were polymorphic. The UPGMA (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) dendrogram clustered 96 isolates into two main clusters, supported by STRUCTURE HARVESTER results (ΔK = 2). Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated significant genetic differences between (15%) and within the populations (85%) (p < 0.001). Twenty-nine genetically distinct strains were selected for the technological characterization. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that five strains with high fermentation capacity, leavening activity, high growth index at 37 °C, and harsh growth conditions were technologically relevant. Trait-loci association analyses indicated that the highest correlation (r = 0.60) was recorded for the fermentation capacity on the 8th and 113th loci, amplified by ISSR-1 and ISSR-6 primers, respectively (p < 0.05). The strains yielding high performances and the associated loci amplified by ISSR markers possess a high potential to generate locus-specific primers to target the strains with high fermentation capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Microbial Communities during Food Fermentation)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 3662 KiB  
Article
Influence of 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on the Processing and Microbial Communities of Spanish-Style and Directly Brined Green Table Olive Fermentations
by Elio López-García, Antonio Benítez-Cabello, Francisco Rodríguez-Gómez, Virginia Martín-Arranz, Antonio Garrido-Fernández and Francisco Noé Arroyo-López
Fermentation 2022, 8(9), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8090441 - 5 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1924
Abstract
This work evaluates the effect of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on postharvest and fermentation of Manzanilla cultivar, processed as Spanish-style or directly brined table olives. During postharvest handling, 1-MCP (2.85 µL/L) reduced the number of colour-turning olives by 18.42% over the untreated fruits. In Spanish-style [...] Read more.
This work evaluates the effect of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on postharvest and fermentation of Manzanilla cultivar, processed as Spanish-style or directly brined table olives. During postharvest handling, 1-MCP (2.85 µL/L) reduced the number of colour-turning olives by 18.42% over the untreated fruits. In Spanish-style and directly brined fermentation, the 1-MCP treatment led to lower pH levels, higher titratable acidities, improved firmness and colour olives than untreated fruits. A panel of expert testers also gave higher scores, and overall acceptability to the 1-MCP treated fruits, especially in the case of Spanish-style fermented olives. Metagenomic analysis of olive biofilms at the end of the fermentation process (176 days) revealed that Lactiplantibacillus was the most abundant bacterial genus in both Spanish-style and directly brined olives (>72%). However, fungal biodiversity was higher than bacterial in all treatments. Saccharomyces was the predominant yeast genus associated with directly brined olives (>97%), whilst Wickerhamomyces (>37%) and Zygoascus (>18%) were with Spanish-style fermentations. The 1-MCP treatment doubled the presence of Wickerhamomyces in Spanish-style fruits (74%) whilst reducing the presence of Zygoascus and allowing the growth of Enterobacter (15%) in directly brined olives. Thus, the postharvesting treatment of table olives with 1-MCP could help reduce the maturation progress of olives and improve the organoleptic and quality characteristics of the products without affecting the microbiological evolution of the fermentations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Microbial Communities during Food Fermentation)
Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 2927 KiB  
Article
Screening and Molecular Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria Producing β-Glucan in Boza and Cider
by Shatha A. Allaith, Mohamed E. Abdel-aziz, Zaid Akram Thabit, Ammar B. Altemimi, Khalid Abd El-Ghany, Angelo Maria Giuffrè, Alaa Jabbar Abd Al-Manhel, Hanan S. Ebrahim, Reda Mahgoub Mohamed and Tarek Gamal Abedelmaksoud
Fermentation 2022, 8(8), 350; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8080350 - 25 Jul 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3718
Abstract
The goal of this study was screening and molecular identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) producing β-glucan from different species isolated from boza and cider compared to a standard strain for Lactobacillus rhamnosus NRRL 1937 (LGG). From 48 unknown isolates, four LAB strains [...] Read more.
The goal of this study was screening and molecular identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) producing β-glucan from different species isolated from boza and cider compared to a standard strain for Lactobacillus rhamnosus NRRL 1937 (LGG). From 48 unknown isolates, four LAB strains were selected. Based on the NCBI database, their nomenclature was A3, B6, and C9 for Limosilactobacillus fermentum SH1, SH2, and SH3 along with D6 for Leuconostoc mesenteroides SH4. Also, their similarity values were 100%, 99.8%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. The potential of Exopolysaccharide (EPS) (as β-glucan) production for selected LAB strains by gtf gene, conventional PCR and gene expression using both LGG as a control and LAB 16S rRNA gene as a house-keeping gene was investigated. In addition, EPS (mg/100 mL), cell mass (mg/100 mL), pH, total carbohydrate%, total protein% and β-glucan% by the HPLC for all selected LAB isolates were studied. All results of genetic and chemical tests proved the superiority of B6 treatment for L. fermentum SH2. The results showed the superiority of B6 treatment in gtf gene expression (14.7230 ± 0.070-fold) followed by C9 and A3 treatments, which were 10.1730 ± 0.231-fold and 8.6139 ± 0.320-fold, respectively. while D6 treatment recorded the lowest value of gene expression (0.8566 ± 0.040-fold) compared to the control LGG (one-fold). The results also demonstrated that B6 treatment was superior to the other treatments in terms of EPS formation, with a value of 481 ± 1.00 mg/100 mL, followed by the C9 treatment at 440 ± 2.00 mg/100 mL, compared to the LGG (control) reaching 199.7 ± 3.51 mg/100 mL. Also, the highest % of quantitative and qualitative β-glucan in EPS was observed in B6 followed by C9, D6 and A3 which were 5.56 ± 0.01%, 4.46 ± 0.01%, 0.25 ± 0.008% and 0.12 ± 0.008%, respectively compared to control (0.31 ± 0.01%). Finally, the presented results indicate the importance of screening the local LAB isolates to obtain a superior strain for β-glucan production which will be introduced in a subsequent study under optimum conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Microbial Communities during Food Fermentation)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop