Diverse structure and characteristics of the fungal community during the different rounds of Jiang-flavoured Baijiu production in Moutai town

Environmental fungi play an essential role in the microbial community of Jiang-flavoured (Moutai-flavour) Baijiu during production via certain interaction and regulatory mechanisms. In this study, high-throughput sequencing and related methods were used to determine the diversity in environmental fungi in Moutai. Overall, 4 phyla, 110 families, and 391 species of fungi were detected from 49 environmental samples. Results showed that Saccharomycopsis fibuligera (1.25-41.53%) and Wickerhamomyces anomalus (0.56-26.14%) were the core fungal communities in these brewing environmental samples. Simultaneously, some unstable species, such as Thermoascus aurantiacus (0.05-29.64%) and unclassified_o_Eurotiales (0.02-6.49%), showed significant differences in the relative abundance for specific species called characteristic microorganisms. Temperature effectively regulated the succession of Wallemia mellicola and unclassified_f_Saccharomycetaceae. This study illustrated the relationship between the succession of microbial structures and environmental factors in the fermentation environment, enriching the microbial resources and providing suggestions for the potential optimization of Baiju production, especially Jiang-flavoured Baijiu.

Automated summary

This study used high-throughput sequencing and related methods to determine the diversity and succession of environmental fungi in Moutai Baijiu production. The results showed that temperature played a role in regulating the succession of fungal species.