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Metagenome analysis of bacterial diversity in Tibetan kefir grains

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Abstract

Bacterial diversity of Tibetan kefir grains from different areas in China was investigated by culture-independent metagenomic methods, and comprehensive taxonomic profiling was done. Eleven genera and their proportions were found in all the 4 samples, and they were Lactococcus (40.93–72.02 %), Lactobacillus (10.50–47.89 %), Acetobacter (4.50–14.15 %), Shewanella (1.73–7.58 %), Leuconostoc (0.64–0.84 %), Pseudomonas (0.07–0.63 %), Streptococcus (0.02–0.22 %), Acinetobacter (0.05–0.12 %), Pelomonas (0–0.01 %), Dysgonomonas (0–0.01 %), and Weissella (0–0.01 %). Shewanella, Acinetobacter, Pelomonas, Dysgonomonas, Weissella, and Pseudomonas were the first time found in Tibetan kefir grains. α-Diversity analysis showed that they varied in bacterial richness and diversity while β-diversity showed that the variation of genera composition among sampling sites was small. Principal component analysis showed that Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Acetobacter were the main genera which caused the diversity. This study provided theoretical basis for further investigation and application of Tibetan kefir grains.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to those who sent the kefir samples for this research, and this work was supported by National Technology Support Project of China (2012BAD37B01) and Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Y2111237).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Jie Gao, Fengying Gu, Qihe Chen, Hui Ruan & Guoqing He

  2. Zhejiang Economic and Trade Polytechnic, Hangzhou, 310018, China

    Jie He

  3. Lishui University, Lishui, 323000, Zhejiang, China

    Jianzhong Xiao & Guoqing He

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  1. Jie Gao
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Correspondence to Guoqing He.

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Gao, J., Gu, F., He, J. et al. Metagenome analysis of bacterial diversity in Tibetan kefir grains. Eur Food Res Technol 236, 549–556 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-013-1912-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-013-1912-2

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