Culture-independent analysis of the bacterial community in Chinese fermented vegetables and genomic analysis of lactic acid bacteria

Six different fermented vegetables were collected from Zhejiang Province, China, to explore the associated bacterial community using a high-throughput sequencing platform. A total of 24 phyla, 274 families and 569 genera were identified from 6 samples. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the main phyla in all of the samples. Brevibacterium was the major genus in Xiaoshan pickled radish. Lactobacillus-related genera and Vibrio were the major genera in fermented potherb mustard and its brine. Enterobacter and Cobetia were the major genera in fermented radish and its brine. Chromohalobacter was the major genus in the tuber mustard. These results indicated clear differences were there between the bacterial genera present in Xiaoshan pickled radish, fermented potherb mustard, fermented radish, and tuber mustard. This demonstrated the possible influences of raw materials and manufacturing processes. Furthermore, a large number of lactic acid bacteria were isolated and identified by culture-dependent and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, which accounted for more than 68% of all the isolates. In addition, whole-genome analysis of Levilactobacillus suantsaii, Latilactobacillus sakei subsp. sakei, and Weissella cibaria showed that they had large numbers of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism. This may explain why these three bacterial strains can grow in fermented vegetable environments.

Automated summary

The study revealed significant differences in the bacterial communities present in different fermented vegetables, possibly related to raw materials and manufacturing processes. A large number of lactic acid bacteria were isolated and identified in different vegetables, indicating their importance in the fermentation process. Furthermore, three bacterial strains showed a high abundance of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism, which may explain their ability to thrive in fermented vegetable environments.