Moisture

Engineering

Bacteria

Biology

Geotechnical engineering

Ecological succession

Botany

Humidity

Acetobacter

Food science

Starter

Genetics

Organic chemistry

Geography

Environmental science

Microbial population biology

Chemistry

Meteorology

Microorganism

Water content

Pulp and paper industry

Fermentation

Bioresource Technology

Nongxiangxing daqu (daqu), which is produced by the open fermentation of wheat, is the fermentation starter of baijiu. This work reports the occurrence and driving factors of microbial community succession (MCS), which determines daqu quality, during daqu fermentation. The co-occurrence networks of the 2 stages of the MCS showed that module 2 of stage P1 contained Mucoromycota and Actinobacteriota and was affected by temperature, humidity, CO2, and moisture; module 8 of stage P2 contained Mucoromycota and Saccharomycetes and was influenced by acidity and moisture. Twenty-two genera were thebiomarkers of the MCS. The MCS was driven by temperature, humidity, CO2, O2, acidity,moisture and interactions between the biomarkes and Lactobacillales, Saccharomycetales, and Acetobacter. The main driving factors of the bacterial community succession were acidity, moisture, and temperature, and that of the fungal community succession was moisture. These results guide the control of MCS during daqu fermentation.

Environmental factors and interactions among microorganisms drive microbial community succession during fermentation of Nongxiangxing daqu