Discovering the indigenous microbial communities associated with the natural fermentation of sap from the cider gum Eucalyptus gunnii
Discovering the indigenous microbial communities associated with the natural fermentation of sap from the cider gum Eucalyptus gunnii
Over the course of human history and in most societies, fermented beverages have had a unique economic and cultural importance. Before the arrival of the first Europeans in Australia, Aboriginal people reportedly produced several fermented drinks including mangaitch from flowering cones of Banksia and way-a-linah from Eucalyptus tree sap. In the case of more familiar fermented beverages, numerous microorganisms, including fungi, yeast and bacteria, present on the surface of fruits and grains are responsible for the conversion of the sugars in these materials into ethanol. Here we describe native microbial communities associated with the spontaneous fermentation of sap from the cider gum Eucalyptus gunnii, a Eucalyptus tree native to the remote Central Plateau of Tasmania. Amplicon-based phylotyping showed numerous microbial species in cider gum samples, with fungal species differing greatly to those associated with winemaking. Phylotyping also revealed several fungal sequences which do not match known fungal genomes suggesting novel yeast species. These findings highlight the vast microbial diversity associated with the Australian Eucalyptus gunnii and the native alcoholic beverage way-a-linah.
Varela, Cristian
84214356-34dc-45bd-947f-bbab84c0f57d
Sundstrom, Joanna
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Cuijvers, Kathleen
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Jiranek, Vladimir
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Borneman, Anthony
1489572d-e8df-4476-9629-8ebd4eb2729a
1 December 2020
Varela, Cristian
84214356-34dc-45bd-947f-bbab84c0f57d
Sundstrom, Joanna
6c6b3452-dfb3-4b5c-aa42-c721eed7b9bb
Cuijvers, Kathleen
057b6dab-c30d-4810-aab8-04baf690932d
Jiranek, Vladimir
8e5a8dfd-f5b2-43e3-928b-11dff324abc7
Borneman, Anthony
1489572d-e8df-4476-9629-8ebd4eb2729a
Varela, Cristian, Sundstrom, Joanna, Cuijvers, Kathleen, Jiranek, Vladimir and Borneman, Anthony
(2020)
Discovering the indigenous microbial communities associated with the natural fermentation of sap from the cider gum Eucalyptus gunnii.
Scientific Reports, 10 (1), [14716].
(doi:10.1038/s41598-020-71663-x).
Abstract
Over the course of human history and in most societies, fermented beverages have had a unique economic and cultural importance. Before the arrival of the first Europeans in Australia, Aboriginal people reportedly produced several fermented drinks including mangaitch from flowering cones of Banksia and way-a-linah from Eucalyptus tree sap. In the case of more familiar fermented beverages, numerous microorganisms, including fungi, yeast and bacteria, present on the surface of fruits and grains are responsible for the conversion of the sugars in these materials into ethanol. Here we describe native microbial communities associated with the spontaneous fermentation of sap from the cider gum Eucalyptus gunnii, a Eucalyptus tree native to the remote Central Plateau of Tasmania. Amplicon-based phylotyping showed numerous microbial species in cider gum samples, with fungal species differing greatly to those associated with winemaking. Phylotyping also revealed several fungal sequences which do not match known fungal genomes suggesting novel yeast species. These findings highlight the vast microbial diversity associated with the Australian Eucalyptus gunnii and the native alcoholic beverage way-a-linah.
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Published date: 1 December 2020
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Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Steve Cronin, Andry Sculthorpe and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Council for allowing access to Trawtha Makuminya, and Matt Taylor and The Tasmanian Land Conservancy for allowing access to Skullbone Plains and Five Rivers—Serpentine. Special thanks to Michael O’Brian and Associate Professor Maggie Brady for their inputs on the planning stages of this work and to Associate Professor Daniel Durall and Jemma McGilton for their help during sampling. The AWRI and the University of Adelaide are members of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide. The AWRI is supported by Australia’s grape growers and winemakers through their investment body Wine Australia with matching funds from the Australian Government. University of Adelaide researchers gratefully acknowledge financial support from the offices of the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) as well as the Yipti Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 482689
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/482689
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: 93d0cbc8-f896-4bb1-a02d-41c1b219816d
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Date deposited: 11 Oct 2023 16:53
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:12
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Contributors
Author:
Cristian Varela
Author:
Joanna Sundstrom
Author:
Kathleen Cuijvers
Author:
Vladimir Jiranek
Author:
Anthony Borneman
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