Microbiological characterization of traditional dough fermentation starter (Jiaozi) for steamed bread making by culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.

In this study, the microbial composition of two types of Jiaozi (a dough fermentation starter in making steamed bread) was investigated using both culture-dependent and culture-independent (PCR-DGGE) methods. The numbers of the cultivable bacteria on MRS at 30°C and yeast on YPD at 28°C in the maize flour Jiaozi (MFJ) were 9.21±0.16 Log CFU/g and 9.18±0.05 Log CFU/g, respectively, which were higher than that in the rice flour Jiaozi (RFJ) (P<0.05). A total of 140 bacteria and 124 yeasts were isolated and identified on the basis of the sequences of their 16S rRNA gene and ITS region. The culture-dependent method showed that Acetobacter tropicalis and Enterococcus durans were the predominant bacteria strains in MFJ, and accounted for 45.7% and 25.7% of the bacteria, and Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus pentosaceus represented 12.8% and 8.6%. In the RFJ sample, the most prominent isolate was P. pentosaceus (38.6%), followed by L. plantarum (24.3%), A. tropicalis (22.8%), and E. durans (5.7%). P. pentosaceus and L. plantarum were also detected in both starters by PCR-DGGE, while some bacteria species such as A. tropicalis and E. durans, recovered as pure cultures, were not detected by direct PCR-DGGE. On the other hand, Lactobacillus brevis, Weissella sp. and Lactobacillus alimentarius detected by PCR-DGGE were not recovered in any of the media and conditions used. In the MFJ sample, the isolated main yeast species were identified as Wickerhamomyces anomalus (67.2%), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (27.9%) and Torulaspora delbrueckii (4.9%). In addition to S. cerevisiae (42.9%), W. anomalus (27.0%) and T. delbrueckii (7.9%), Saccharomycopsis fibuligera was also identified as the predominant isolate in RFJ samples and accounted for 22.2%. PCR-DGGE also indicated the presence of W. anomalus and S. cerevisiae in both MFJ and RFJ starters and S. fibuligera was also detected in RFJ, but T. delbrueckii was not detected in both samples.