Gibson, Brian

Schwan, Rosane Freitas

Zhao, Jian

Frontiers in Microbiology

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EDITORIALpublished: 22 April 2022doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.902116Frontiers in Microbiology | www.frontiersin.org 1 April 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 902116Edited and reviewed by:Giovanna Suzzi,University of Teramo, Italy*Correspondence:Brian Gibsonbrian.gibson@tu-berlin.de†These authors have contributedequally to this workSpecialty section:This article was submitted toFood Microbiology,a section of the journalFrontiers in MicrobiologyReceived: 22 March 2022Accepted: 28 March 2022Published: 22 April 2022Citation:Gibson B, Zhao J and Schwan RF(2022) Editorial: InterspeciesInteractions Within Fermented FoodSystems and Their Impact on ProcessEfficiency and Product Quality.Front. Microbiol. 13:902116.doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.902116Editorial: Interspecies InteractionsWithin Fermented Food Systems andTheir Impact on Process Efficiencyand Product QualityBrian Gibson 1*†, Jian Zhao 2† and Rosane Freitas Schwan 3†1Chair of Brewing and Beverage Technology, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 2 Food Science and TechnologyGroup, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia, 3Department of Biology, Universidade Federal deLavras, Lavras, BrazilKeywords: fermentation, interspecies interactions, food and beverage, efficiency, safety, qualityEditorial on the Research TopicInterspecies Interactions Within Fermented Food Systems and Their Impact on ProcessEfficiency and Product QualityFood is an integral part of human culture. Aside from its nutritional role, it connects us on a dailybasis through the act of sitting and eating together, it contributes to feelings of shared identity inpopulations, it is an essential component of many formative events in our lives, and is a gateway toexperiencing new cultures.While the influence of food in defining human culture is well-understood, there is a growingappreciation of the role of microbial cultures in defining the properties of food. Archaeologicalevidence points to the use of fermentation over many thousands of years for the production of arange of foods and beverages. Fermentation serves to make foods more digestible, longer-lasting,safer, and more palatable. For our species, the role of fermentation in food production has arguablybeen as influential as the role of fire for cooking food.For much of our history, these fermentation processes have been carried out by complexassemblages of organisms, with the use of single strains for fermentation of bread, beer, wine, etc.being a relatively recent development. We have however been seeing a growing interest in the useof microbial communities in food production. In the western world, this revival has been drivenin part by the popularity of craft beer, natural wine, fermented non-alcoholic beverages (kefir,kombucha), and sourdough bread. In other parts of the world, complex cultures in fermentationrepresent continuation of tradition rather than revival.This Research Topic from Frontiers in Microbiology aims to highlight the beneficial roleof microbial complexity in driving fermentation processes and influencing food quality. Theissue features ten articles describing investigations into complex microbial fermentation for theproduction of food, feed, and beverages. Contributions were received from Africa, Asia, Australia,Europe, and South America—highlighting the global importance of fermentation. Demonstratedbenefits of particular communities during fermentation include improved flavor and color, greatersafety, increased nutritional value, faster fermentation rates, reduced alcohol content, and betterindustrial applicability.One of the most direct impacts of fermentation is the creation of specific flavor profiles.We see this in the work of Elhalis et al., who show improved sensory properties of coffeeafter fermentation with the yeast Pichia Kudriavzevii. Likewise, Köhler et al. note how specificyeast and bacteria combinations can improve the flavor of water kefir. Liu et al. describe theGibson et al. Editorial: Interspecies Interactions Within Food Fermentationsrelationship between bacterial composition and flavor profile ofXifeng liquor (a spirit prepared from fermented sorghum).Palatability of foods is not the only factor influenced byfermentation. Benefits extend also to improved digestibility andsafety. Su et al. for example, note how fermentation of corn by-products with Saccharomyces yeast and lactic acid bacteria canimprove their suitability for use as feed. Dahunsi et al. provide acomprehensive account of how the presence of lactic acid bacteriawithin fermentative microbial consortia have a critical role inensuring the safety and shelf-life of many fermented Africanfoods. Likewise, Huang et al. describe the metabolites producedby the yeast Debaryomyces hansenii can prevent the growth ofcontaminant molds during Danish cheese production.The composition of species in a fermenting culture is stronglyimpacted by the environment, a fact that must be consideredwhen trying to control or direct fermentation processes. Theeffect of environment is clearly seen in the study of Martinezet al. who describe how coffee fermentation is influencedby altitude, and how this is associated with changes in thenatural microbiota. Substrate also influences the developmentof populations, as illustrated by Liu et al. who show howdifferent microbial communities develop depending on the typeof sorghum used in Xifeng liquour production. Su et al. likewiseshow how communities develop differently in different by-products of the corn starch industry. These, and other studiesdescribed in this Research Topic, demonstrate the power ofhigh-throughput sequencing in studying microbial communities.This is particularly important for dynamic, complex or under-researched communities. This is exemplified in the studies ondark tea fermentation by Yan et al. or the work of Atter et al. onGhanian cereal fermentation.Despite the advantages of complex fermentations with respectto product quality, it should be noted that industrial applicationof such cultures is not without complications. More complexitymay lead to less consistency in fermentation processes. Thecontrolled use of cultures, e.g., supplementing natural microbialconsortia with specific species, or rationalizing consortia so thatthey contain only the keystone species, represents a compromisein this respect. Examples are seen here in the work on cheeseproduction by Huang et al. coffee fermentation by Elhalis et al.and water kefir production by Köhler et al.Complex fermentations demonstrate great potential forimproving food process efficiency, enhancing food quality, andincreasing diversity of available foods and beverages. It is clearhowever that our ability to fully exploit such fermentationsis limited by insufficient knowledge of how individuals inmixed populations interact to influence each other and theirenvironment. It is our hope that this Research Topic represents astep forward in our understanding of these complex systems, andwill to some extent facilitate the efficient production of a range ofhigh quality food products in the future.AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONSAll authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectualcontribution to the work and approved it for publication.Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in theabsence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as apotential conflict of interest.Publisher’s Note: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authorsand do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those ofthe publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated inthis article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed orendorsed by the publisher.Copyright © 2022 Gibson, Zhao and Schwan. This is an open-access articledistributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided theoriginal author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the originalpublication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with theseterms.Frontiers in Microbiology | www.frontiersin.org 2 April 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 902116

Editorial: Interspecies Interactions Within Fermented Food Systems and Their Impact on Process Efficiency and Product Quality

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Editorial: Interspecies Interactions Within Fermented Food Systems and Their Impact on Process Efficiency and Product Quality

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