AUTHOR=Chaves-Lopez Clemencia , Serio Annalisa , Delgado-Ospina Johannes , Rossi Chiara , Grande-Tovar Carlos D. , Paparella Antonello 

TITLE=Exploring the Bacterial Microbiota of Colombian Fermented Maize Dough “Masa Agria” (Maiz Añejo)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01168

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.01168

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Masa Agria</italic> is a naturally fermented maize dough produced in Colombia, very common in the traditional gastronomy. In this study we used culture-dependent and RNA-based pyrosequencing to investigate the bacterial community structure of <italic>Masa Agria</italic> samples produced in the south west of Colombia. The mean value of cell density was 7.6 log CFU/g of presumptive lactic acid bacteria, 5.4 log cfu/g for presumptive acetic bacteria and 5.6 og CFU/g for yeasts. The abundance of these microorganisms is also responsible for the low pH (3.1–3.7) registered. Although the 16S rRNA pyrosequencing revealed that the analyzed samples were different in bacteria richness and diversity, the genera <italic>Lactobacillus</italic>, <italic>Weissella</italic>, and <italic>Acetobacter</italic> were predominant. In particular, the most common species were <italic>Lactobacillus plantarum</italic> and <italic>Acetobacter fabarum</italic>, followed by <italic>L. fermentum, L. vaccinostercus</italic>, and <italic>Pediococcus argentinicus.</italic> Several microorganisms of environmental origin, such as <italic>Dechloromonas</italic> and most of all <italic>Sphingobium</italic> spp., revealed in each sample, were detected, and also bacteria related to maize, such as <italic>Phytoplasma.</italic> In conclusion, our results elucidated for the first time the structures of the bacterial communities of <italic>Masa Agria</italic> samples obtained from different producers, identifying the specific dominant species and revealing a complete picture of the bacterial consortium in this specific niche. The selective pressure of tropical environments may favor microbial biodiversity characterized by a useful technological potential.</p>