Given the success of 'Insights of Fermented Foods and Beverages: Microbiology and Health-Promoting Benefits' and the rapidly evolving subject area, we are pleased to announce the launch of this follow up Research Topic, Insights of Fermented Foods and Beverages: Metagenomics, Metabolomics and Foodomics
Fermented foods and alcoholic beverages are part of our daily dietary routine across the world. Research on fermented foods and beverages have proved to be a huge source of both culturable and unculturable microbiota resources. The sustainable use of microorganisms in food fermentations is generally based on the relation between the traditional knowledge and the basic understanding of the microbial background of fermentation. Diverse forms of microbial communities including prokaryotic (bacteria and archaea), eukaryotic (yeasts and fungi), and virus microorganisms are present, develop and evolve in fermented foods and beverages. These populations may be reproduced either naturally, driven by the technological processes, by back-slopping, or by the addition of starter culture(s), are taking over the transformation of raw/cooked edible substrates and components into the aroma and taste compounds that appeal consumers since ancient times. With the rapid application of culture independent techniques using sequence-based metataxonomic and metagenomics, supported by machine learning techniques, in depth microbial community diversity and structure are explored in many ethnic and traditional fermented foods and beverages, changing the paradigm of classical microbiology to metagenomics and omics concepts. However, culture dependent method for selection and development of bio-functional starter cultures can not be ignored, it should be an integrative approach with culture independent techniques.
Microorganisms depend on relevant substrates for survival and produce metabolites, of which many are bioactive compounds that enrich the human diet, thereby promoting health benefits to consumers. Some health-promoting benefits of fermented foods and beverages are: production of immunomodulators, bioactive peptides, bio-functional untargeted metabolites, probiotics, etc. Predictive functionalities of food metagenomes may predict the safety profiles and the metabolic pathways in fermented products. Increased understanding of the viability of beneficial microbiome and mycobiome, interactions between gut microbiota, diet and the host physiology has opened up new possibilities of producing novel ingredients for nutritionally-optimized foods, which can promote consumers’ health through microbial interactions and activities in the gut. Validation of predictive metabolisms with real time experiments on targeted and untargeted metabolites by metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics and foodomics, which is the comprehensive studies of food and nutrition through application of omics, have aided in understanding the “ethno-microbiology” of some ancient fermented foods.
The present Research Topic aims to collect original research and review papers on latest use of NGS including metagenomics, metabolomics, proteomics and transcriptomics and other omics in microbiology, with regard to research focusing on the microbial community diversity and structure and the sensory properties and health-associated benefits of fermented foods and alcoholic beverages from researchers working in the field of food microbiology and foodomics.
Given the success of 'Insights of Fermented Foods and Beverages: Microbiology and Health-Promoting Benefits' and the rapidly evolving subject area, we are pleased to announce the launch of this follow up Research Topic, Insights of Fermented Foods and Beverages: Metagenomics, Metabolomics and Foodomics
Fermented foods and alcoholic beverages are part of our daily dietary routine across the world. Research on fermented foods and beverages have proved to be a huge source of both culturable and unculturable microbiota resources. The sustainable use of microorganisms in food fermentations is generally based on the relation between the traditional knowledge and the basic understanding of the microbial background of fermentation. Diverse forms of microbial communities including prokaryotic (bacteria and archaea), eukaryotic (yeasts and fungi), and virus microorganisms are present, develop and evolve in fermented foods and beverages. These populations may be reproduced either naturally, driven by the technological processes, by back-slopping, or by the addition of starter culture(s), are taking over the transformation of raw/cooked edible substrates and components into the aroma and taste compounds that appeal consumers since ancient times. With the rapid application of culture independent techniques using sequence-based metataxonomic and metagenomics, supported by machine learning techniques, in depth microbial community diversity and structure are explored in many ethnic and traditional fermented foods and beverages, changing the paradigm of classical microbiology to metagenomics and omics concepts. However, culture dependent method for selection and development of bio-functional starter cultures can not be ignored, it should be an integrative approach with culture independent techniques.
Microorganisms depend on relevant substrates for survival and produce metabolites, of which many are bioactive compounds that enrich the human diet, thereby promoting health benefits to consumers. Some health-promoting benefits of fermented foods and beverages are: production of immunomodulators, bioactive peptides, bio-functional untargeted metabolites, probiotics, etc. Predictive functionalities of food metagenomes may predict the safety profiles and the metabolic pathways in fermented products. Increased understanding of the viability of beneficial microbiome and mycobiome, interactions between gut microbiota, diet and the host physiology has opened up new possibilities of producing novel ingredients for nutritionally-optimized foods, which can promote consumers’ health through microbial interactions and activities in the gut. Validation of predictive metabolisms with real time experiments on targeted and untargeted metabolites by metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics and foodomics, which is the comprehensive studies of food and nutrition through application of omics, have aided in understanding the “ethno-microbiology” of some ancient fermented foods.
The present Research Topic aims to collect original research and review papers on latest use of NGS including metagenomics, metabolomics, proteomics and transcriptomics and other omics in microbiology, with regard to research focusing on the microbial community diversity and structure and the sensory properties and health-associated benefits of fermented foods and alcoholic beverages from researchers working in the field of food microbiology and foodomics.