Metataxonomic and metabolic evaluation of three water kefir microbiomes cultured in sugar cane juice

Abstract

Three water kefir grains (WKG) C, B, M with higher heterogeneity in the consortia C and M, and different biodiversity, dominated mainly by the genus Lactobacillus were selected from three Colombian locations and evaluated metataxonomically and metabolically using sugar cane juice (SCJ) as a culture medium, the molecular characterization was performed by sequencing in Illumina Miseq, and microbial diversity used Mothur platforms. The objective was to evaluate the SCJ on the consortium and the bacterial and fungal diversity immersed in the WKG. Biomass and secondary metabolites were monitored during 152 h. Growth kinetic data were fitted to the Logistic, Richards, and Gompertz models. WKG C rRNA 16S sequencing by Simpson's index (0.298) evidenced low species biodiversity, dominated by Lactobacillus sp. In C (0.986), the ITS1 marker indicated a more heterogeneous community than B and M, with Saccharomyces sp. as the predominating species. Parameters of the Gompertz model fitted to C biomass were: μmax (0.032 h−1), latency time (1.736 h), and adaptation (6.48 h). WKG consortia B showed higher acetic acid and ethanol production with 5.269 and 0.333 g/L, respectively. SCJ is a suitable medium for Lactobacillus sp. and Saccharomyces sp. strains in WKG.