Polyphasic study of the spatial distribution of microorganisms in Mexican pozol, a fermented maize dough, demonstrates the need for cultivation-independent methods to investigate traditional fermentations.

ABSTRACT: The distribution of microorganisms in pozol balls, a fermented maize dough, was investigated by a polyphasic approach in which we used both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods, including microbial enumeration, fermentation product analysis, quantification of microbial taxa with 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes, determination of microbial fingerprints by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and 16S ribosomal DNA gene sequencing. Our results demonstrate that DGGE fingerprinting and rRNA quantification should allow workers to precisely and rapidly characterize the microbial assemblage in a spontaneous lactic acid fermented food. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) accounted for 90 to 97% of the total active microflora; no streptococci were isolated, although members of

SUBMITTER: Ampe F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC91745 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature