scholarly journals Local domestication of microbes via cassava beer fermentation

Author(s):  
Alese Colehour ◽  
James F Meadow ◽  
Tara J Cepon-Robins ◽  
Theresa E Gildner ◽  
Melissa A Liebert ◽  
...  

Cassava beer, or chicha, is typically consumed daily by the indigenous Shuar people of the Ecuadorian Amazon. This traditional beverage made from cassava tuber (Manihot esculenta) improves nutritional quality and flavor while extending shelf life in a tropical climate. Bacteria responsible for chicha fermentation could be a source of microbes beneficial to human health, but little is known regarding the microbiology of chicha. We investigated bacterial community composition of chicha batches using Illumina high-throughput sequencing. Fermented chicha samples were collected from seven Shuar households in two neighboring villages in the Morona-Santiago region of Ecuador, and the composition of the bacterial communities within each chicha sample was determined by sequencing a region of the 16S ribosomal gene. Members of the genus Lactobacillus dominated all samples, demonstrating that chicha is a source of organisms related to known probiotics. Significantly greater taxonomic similarity was observed between communities in chicha samples taken within a village than those from different villages. Community composition varied among chicha samples, even those separated by short geographic distances, suggesting that ecological and/or evolutionary processes, including human preference, may be responsible for creating locally adapted and regionally resilient ferments. Our results suggest that traditional fermentation may be a form of domestication that provides endemic beneficial inocula for consumers.

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alese Colehour ◽  
James F Meadow ◽  
Tara J Cepon-Robins ◽  
Theresa E Gildner ◽  
Melissa A Liebert ◽  
...  

Cassava beer, or chicha, is typically consumed daily by the indigenous Shuar people of the Ecuadorian Amazon. This traditional beverage made from cassava tuber (Manihot esculenta) improves nutritional quality and flavor while extending shelf life in a tropical climate. Bacteria responsible for chicha fermentation could be a source of microbes beneficial to human health, but little is known regarding the microbiology of chicha. We investigated bacterial community composition of chicha batches using Illumina high-throughput sequencing. Fermented chicha samples were collected from seven Shuar households in two neighboring villages in the Morona-Santiago region of Ecuador, and the composition of the bacterial communities within each chicha sample was determined by sequencing a region of the 16S ribosomal gene. Members of the genus Lactobacillus dominated all samples, demonstrating that chicha is a source of organisms related to known probiotics. Significantly greater taxonomic similarity was observed between communities in chicha samples taken within a village than those from different villages. Community composition varied among chicha samples, even those separated by short geographic distances, suggesting that ecological and/or evolutionary processes, including human preference, may be responsible for creating locally adapted and regionally resilient ferments. Our results suggest that traditional fermentation may be a form of domestication that provides endemic beneficial inocula for consumers.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Li ◽  
Yan Kong ◽  
Dexiong Teng ◽  
Xueni Zhang ◽  
Xuemin He ◽  
...  

BackgroundRecently, researches have begun to investigate the microbial communities associated with halophytes. Both rhizobacterial community composition and the environmental drivers of community assembly have been addressed. However, few studies have explored the structure of rhizobacterial communities associated with halophytic plants that are co-occurring in arid, salinized areas.MethodsFive halophytes were selected for study: these co-occurred in saline soils in the Ebinur Lake Nature Reserve, located at the western margin of the Gurbantunggut Desert of Northwestern China. Halophyte-associated bacterial communities were sampled, and the bacterial 16S rDNA V3–V4 region amplified and sequenced using the Illumina Miseq platform. The bacterial community diversity and structure were compared between the rhizosphere and bulk soils, as well as among the rhizosphere samples. The effects of plant species identity and soil properties on the bacterial communities were also analyzed.ResultsSignificant differences were observed between the rhizosphere and bulk soil bacterial communities. Diversity was higher in the rhizosphere than in the bulk soils. Abundant taxonomic groups (from phylum to genus) in the rhizosphere were much more diverse than in bulk soils. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Planctomycetes were the most abundant phyla in the rhizosphere, while Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were common in bulk soils. Overall, the bacterial community composition were not significantly differentiated between the bulk soils of the five plants, but community diversity and structure differed significantly in the rhizosphere. The diversity ofHalostachys caspica,Halocnemum strobilaceumandKalidium foliatumassociated bacterial communities was lower than that ofLimonium gmeliniiandLycium ruthenicumcommunities. Furthermore, the composition of the bacterial communities ofHalostachys caspicaandHalocnemum strobilaceumwas very different from those ofLimonium gmeliniiandLycium ruthenicum. The diversity and community structure were influenced by soil EC, pH and nutrient content (TOC, SOM, TON and AP); of these, the effects of EC on bacterial community composition were less important than those of soil nutrients.DiscussionHalophytic plant species played an important role in shaping associated rhizosphere bacterial communities. When salinity levels were constant, soil nutrients emerged as key factors structuring bacterial communities, while EC played only a minor role. Pairwise differences among the rhizobacterial communities associated with different plant species were not significant, despite some evidence of differentiation. Further studies involving more halophyte species, and individuals per species, are necessary to elucidate plant species identity effects on the rhizosphere for co-occurring halophytes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Daghio ◽  
Francesca Ciucci ◽  
Arianna Buccioni ◽  
Alice Cappucci ◽  
Laura Casarosa ◽  
...  

The use of rustic cattle is desirable to face challenges brought on by climate change. Maremmana (MA) and Aubrac (AU) are rustic cattle breeds that can be successfully used for sustainable production. In this study, correlations between two rearing systems (feedlot and grazing) and the rumen microbiota, the lipid composition of rumen liquor (RL), and the growth performance of MA and AU steers were investigated. Bacterial community composition was characterized by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, and the RL lipid composition was determined by measuring fatty acid (FA) and the dimethyl acetal profiles. The main factor influencing bacterial community composition was the cattle breed. Some bacterial groups were positively correlated to average daily weight gain for the two breeds (i.e., Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group, Fibrobacter and Succiniclasticum in the rumen of MA steers, and Succinivibrionaceae UCG-002 in the rumen of AU steers); despite this, animal performance appeared to be influenced by short chain FAs production pathways and by the presence of H2 sinks that divert the H2 to processes alternative to the methanogenesis.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengling Zhang ◽  
Xingjia Xiang ◽  
Yuanqiu Dong ◽  
Shaofei Yan ◽  
Yunwei Song ◽  
...  

Intestinal bacterial communities form an integral component of the organism. Many factors influence gut bacterial community composition and diversity, including diet, environment and seasonality. During seasonal migration, birds use many habitats and food resources, which may influence their intestinal bacterial community structure. Hooded crane (Grus monacha) is a migrant waterbird that traverses long distances and occupies varied habitats. In this study, we investigated the diversity and differences in intestinal bacterial communities of hooded cranes over the migratory seasons. Fecal samples from hooded cranes were collected at a stopover site in two seasons (spring and fall) in Lindian, China, and at a wintering ground in Shengjin Lake, China. We analyzed bacterial communities from the fecal samples using high throughput sequencing (Illumina Mi-seq). Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Tenericutes, Cyanobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the dominant phyla across all samples. The intestinal bacterial alpha-diversity of hooded cranes in winter was significantly higher than in fall and spring. The bacterial community composition significantly differed across the three seasons (ANOSIM, P = 0.001), suggesting that seasonal fluctuations may regulate the gut bacterial community composition of migratory birds. This study provides baseline information on the seasonal dynamics of intestinal bacterial community structure in migratory hooded cranes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferran Romero ◽  
Vicenç Acuña ◽  
Sergi Sabater

ABSTRACT Freshwater ecosystems are exposed to multiple stressors, but their individual and combined effects remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigated the response of stream biofilm bacterial communities to warming, hydrological stress, and pesticide exposure. We used 24 artificial streams on which epilithic (growing on coarse sediments) and epipsammic (growing on fine sediments) stream biofilms were maintained. Bacterial community composition and estimated function of biofilms exposed during 30 days to individual and combined stressors were assessed using 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding. Among the individual effects by stressors, hydrological stress (i.e., a simulated low-flow situation) was the most relevant, since it significantly altered 57% of the most abundant bacterial taxa (n = 28), followed by warming (21%) and pesticide exposure (11%). Regarding the combined effects, 16% of all stressor combinations resulted in significant interactions on bacterial community composition and estimated function. Antagonistic responses prevailed (57 to 89% of all significant interactions), followed by synergisms (11 to 43%), on specific bacterial taxa, indicating that multiple-stressor scenarios could lead to unexpected shifts in the community composition and associated functions of riverine bacterial communities. IMPORTANCE Freshwater ecosystems such as rivers are of crucial importance for human well-being. However, human activities result in many stressors (e.g., toxic chemicals, increased water temperatures, and hydrological alterations) cooccurring in rivers and streams worldwide. Among the many organisms inhabiting rivers and streams, bacteria are ecologically crucial; they are placed at the base of virtually all food webs and they recycle the organic matter needed for bigger organisms. Most of these bacteria are in close contact with river substratum, where they form the biofilms. There is an urgent need to evaluate the effects of these stressors on river biofilms, so we can anticipate future environmental problems. In this study, we experimentally exposed river biofilms to a pesticide mixture, an increase in water temperature and a simulated low-flow condition, in order to evaluate the individual and joint effects of these stressors on the bacterial community composition and estimated function.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongqin Liu ◽  
Tandong Yao ◽  
Baiqing Xu

<p>Many studies focusing on the physical and chemical indicators of the ice core reflected the climate changes. However, only few biological indicators indicated the past climate changes which are mainly focused in biomass rather than diversity. How the biodiversity response to the climate change during the past hundred years is still unknow. Glaciers in Mt. Muztagh Ata region are influenced by the year-round westerly circulation. We firstly disclosed annual variations of bacterial community compositions in ice core over the past 130 years from Muztagh Glacier, the western Tibetan Plateau. Temporal variation in bacterial abundance was strongly controlled by DOC, TN, δ<sup>18</sup>O, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2</sup><sup>−</sup>, NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were the three most abundant bacterial phyla, accounting for 49.3%, 21.3% and 11.0% of the total community, respectively. The abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes pronouncedly increased over time throughout the entire ice core. UPGMA cluster analysis of the bacterial community composition separated the all ice core samples into two main clusters along the temporal variation. The first cluster consisted of samples from 1951 to 2000 and the second cluster contained main samples during the period of 1869-1950. The stage 1 and stage 2 bacterial community dissimilarities increased linearly with time on the basis of the Bray-Curtis distance, indicating a similar temporal–decay relationship between the stage 1 and stage 2 bacterial communities. Of all the environmental variables examined, only DOC and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> exhibited very strong negative correlations with bacterial Chao1-richness. <sup>18</sup>O was another important variable in shaping the ice core bacterial community composition and contributed 1.6% of the total variation. Moreover, DistLM analysis indicated that the environmental variables explained more variation in the stage 1 community (20.1%) than that of the stage 2 community (19.9%).</p>


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hauke Kegler ◽  
Christiane Hassenrueck ◽  
Pia Kegler ◽  
Tim C Jennerjahn ◽  
Muhammad Lukman ◽  
...  

Water quality deterioration caused by an enrichment in inorganic and organic matter due to anthropogenic inputs is one of the major local threats to coral reefs in Indonesia. However, even though bacteria are important mediators in coral reef ecosystems, little is known about the response of individual taxa and whole bacterial communities to these anthropogenic inputs. The present study is the first to investigate how bacterial community composition responds to small-scale changes in water quality in several coral reef habitats of the Spermonde Archipelago including the water column, particles and back reef sediments, on a densely populated and an uninhabited island. The main aims were to elucidate if a) water quality indicators and organic matter concentrations differ between the uninhabited and the densely populated island of the archipelago, and b) if there are differences in bacterial community composition in back-reef sediments and in the water column, which are associated with differences in water quality. Several key water quality parameters, such as inorganic nitrate and phosphate, chlorophyll a, and transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) were significantly higher at the inhabited than at the uninhabited island. Bacterial communities in sediments and particle attached communities were significantly different between the two islands with bacterial taxa commonly associated with nutrient and organic matter rich conditions occurring in higher proportions at the inhabited island. Within the individual reef habitats, variations in bacterial community composition between the islands are associated with differences in water quality. We also observed that copiotrophic, opportunistic bacterial taxa were enriched at the inhabited island with its higher chlorophyll a, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and TEP concentrations. Given the increasing strain on tropical coastal ecosystems, this study suggests that effluents from densely populated islands lacking sewage treatment can alter bacterial communities that may be important for coral reef ecosystem function.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hauke F. Kegler ◽  
Christiane Hassenrück ◽  
Pia Kegler ◽  
Tim C. Jennerjahn ◽  
Muhammad Lukman ◽  
...  

Water quality deterioration caused by an enrichment in inorganic and organic matter due to anthropogenic inputs is one of the major local threats to coral reefs in Indonesia. However, even though bacteria are important mediators in coral reef ecosystems, little is known about the response of individual taxa and whole bacterial communities to these anthropogenic inputs. The present study is the first to investigate how bacterial community composition responds to small-scale changes in water quality in several coral reef habitats of the Spermonde Archipelago including the water column, particles, and back-reef sediments, on a densely populated and an uninhabited island. The main aims were to elucidate if (a) water quality indicators and organic matter concentrations differ between the uninhabited and the densely populated island of the archipelago, and (b) if there are differences in bacterial community composition in back-reef sediments and in the water column, which are associated with differences in water quality. Several key water quality parameters, such as inorganic nitrate and phosphate, chlorophylla, and transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) were significantly higher at the inhabited than at the uninhabited island. Bacterial communities in sediments and particle-attached communities were significantly different between the two islands with bacterial taxa commonly associated with nutrient and organic matter-rich conditions occurring in higher proportions at the inhabited island. Within the individual reef habitats, variations in bacterial community composition between the islands were associated with differences in water quality. We also observed that copiotrophic, opportunistic bacterial taxa were enriched at the inhabited island with its higher chlorophylla, dissolved organic carbon and TEP concentrations. Given the increasing strain on tropical coastal ecosystems, this study suggests that effluents from densely populated islands lacking sewage treatment can alter bacterial communities that may be important for coral reef ecosystem function.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Lisanne Smulders ◽  
Victoria Ferrero ◽  
Eduardo de la Peña ◽  
María J. Pozo ◽  
Juan Antonio Díaz Pendón ◽  
...  

Soil bacterial communities are involved in multiple ecosystem services, key in determining plant productivity. Crop domestication and intensive agricultural practices often disrupt species interactions with unknown consequences for rhizosphere microbiomes. This study evaluates whether variation in plant traits along a domestication gradient determines the composition of root-associated bacterial communities; and whether these changes are related to targeted plant traits (e.g., fruit traits) or are side effects of less-often-targeted traits (e.g., resistance) during crop breeding. For this purpose, 18 tomato varieties (wild and modern species) differing in fruit and resistance traits were grown in a field experiment, and their root-associated bacterial communities were characterised. Root-associated bacterial community composition was influenced by plant resistance traits and genotype relatedness. When only considering domesticated tomatoes, the effect of resistance on bacterial OTU composition increases, while the effect due to phylogenetic relatedness decreases. Furthermore, bacterial diversity positively correlated with plant resistance traits. These results suggest that resistance traits not selected during domestication are related to the capacity of tomato varieties to associate with different bacterial groups. Taken together, these results evidence the relationship between plant traits and bacterial communities, pointing out the potential of breeding to affect plant microbiomes.


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