2 research outputs found
The Microbial Diversity of Non-Korean Kimchi as Revealed by Viable Counting and Metataxonomic Sequencing
Kimchi is recognized worldwide as the flagship food of Korea. To date, most of the currently
available microbiological studies on kimchi deal with Korean manufactures. Moreover, there is a
lack of knowledge on the occurrence of eumycetes in kimchi. Given these premises, the present
study was aimed at investigating the bacterial and fungal dynamics occurring during the natural
fermentation of an artisan non-Korean kimchi manufacture. Lactic acid bacteria were dominant, while
Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and yeasts progressively decreased during fermentation.
Erwinia spp., Pseudomonas veronii, Pseudomonas viridiflava, Rahnella aquatilis, and Sphingomonas spp.
were detected during the first 15 days of fermentation, whereas the last fermentation phase was
dominated by Leuconostoc kimchi, together withWeissella soli. For the mycobiota at the beginning of the
fermentation process, Rhizoplaca and Pichia orientalis were the dominant Operational Taxonomic Units
(OTUs) in batch 1, whereas in batch 2 Protomyces inundatus prevailed. In the last stage of fermentation,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida sake, Penicillium, and Malassezia were the most abundant taxa in
both analyzed batches. The knowledge gained in the present study represents a step forward in
the description of the microbial dynamics of kimchi produced outside the region of origin using
local ingredients. It will also serve as a starting point for further isolation of kimchi-adapted
microorganisms to be assayed as potential starters for the manufacturing of novel vegetable preserves
with high quality and functional traits