The magic world of whiskey microbiota
Modern metagenomics techniques in combination with next generation sequencing are increasingly used for research of numerous environments inhabited by diverse microbiota. In the present study we focused on a rather unusual environment for their growth, a forgotten bottle of blended Scotch whiskey. W...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Acta Agriculturae Slovenica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.uni-lj.si/aas/article/view/12975 |
| _version_ | 1826532388597923840 |
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| author | Ajda PRISTAVEC Simon KOREN Barbara JERŠEK Anja VERONOVSKI Leon KOROŠEC Miha KOVAČ Minka KOVAČ Nataša TOPLAK |
| author_facet | Ajda PRISTAVEC Simon KOREN Barbara JERŠEK Anja VERONOVSKI Leon KOROŠEC Miha KOVAČ Minka KOVAČ Nataša TOPLAK |
| author_sort | Ajda PRISTAVEC |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Modern metagenomics techniques in combination with next generation sequencing are increasingly used for research of numerous environments inhabited by diverse microbiota. In the present study we focused on a rather unusual environment for their growth, a forgotten bottle of blended Scotch whiskey. Whiskey is a world-known popular spirit, traditionally produced in a series of steps comprising malting of barley, fermenting the malt to an alcoholic wort, distilling and at least 3-year long maturation in oak casks, followed by filtration. In the process, notably in the fermentation, microorganisms play a crucial role. However, we were primarily interested in potential microbiological and chemical changes that might have taken place over the years while the half-empty whiskey bottle was left open. We found that only a very low number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria survived in it while the ethanol content decreased from 40 % to approximately 30 %. Interestingly, the metagenomics analysis showed there was a large and diverse microbial community present in the forgotten whiskey. Among the most abundant microorganisms were members of human commensal microbiota, some potentially disease-causing and also food spoiling bacteria, in particular genus Pseudomonas. Surprisingly, we even found a non-negligible number of typically environmental bacterial species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:52:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d85486de968d4043862b31915e3effcc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1854-1941 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-14T01:50:27Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Agriculturae Slovenica |
| spelling | doaj.art-d85486de968d4043862b31915e3effcc2025-03-12T12:17:02ZengUniversity of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)Acta Agriculturae Slovenica1854-19412020-12-01116223724310.14720/aas.2020.116.2.169219367The magic world of whiskey microbiotaAjda PRISTAVEC0Simon KOREN1Barbara JERŠEK2Anja VERONOVSKI3Leon KOROŠEC4Miha KOVAČ5Minka KOVAČ6Nataša TOPLAK7Université catholique de Louvain, Place de l'Université 1, 1348 Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumOmega d.o.o., Dolinškova 8, Ljubljana, SI-1000, SloveniaDepartment of Food Science and Technology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, Ljubljana, SI-1000, SloveniaOmega d.o.o., Dolinškova 8, Ljubljana, SI-1000, SloveniaOmega d.o.o., Dolinškova 8, Ljubljana, SI-1000, SloveniaOmega d.o.o., Dolinškova 8, Ljubljana, SI-1000, SloveniaOmega d.o.o., Dolinškova 8, Ljubljana, SI-1000, SloveniaOmega d.o.o., Dolinškova 8, Ljubljana, SI-1000, SloveniaModern metagenomics techniques in combination with next generation sequencing are increasingly used for research of numerous environments inhabited by diverse microbiota. In the present study we focused on a rather unusual environment for their growth, a forgotten bottle of blended Scotch whiskey. Whiskey is a world-known popular spirit, traditionally produced in a series of steps comprising malting of barley, fermenting the malt to an alcoholic wort, distilling and at least 3-year long maturation in oak casks, followed by filtration. In the process, notably in the fermentation, microorganisms play a crucial role. However, we were primarily interested in potential microbiological and chemical changes that might have taken place over the years while the half-empty whiskey bottle was left open. We found that only a very low number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria survived in it while the ethanol content decreased from 40 % to approximately 30 %. Interestingly, the metagenomics analysis showed there was a large and diverse microbial community present in the forgotten whiskey. Among the most abundant microorganisms were members of human commensal microbiota, some potentially disease-causing and also food spoiling bacteria, in particular genus Pseudomonas. Surprisingly, we even found a non-negligible number of typically environmental bacterial species.https://journals.uni-lj.si/aas/article/view/12975whiskeymetagenomicsbacteria |
| spellingShingle | Ajda PRISTAVEC Simon KOREN Barbara JERŠEK Anja VERONOVSKI Leon KOROŠEC Miha KOVAČ Minka KOVAČ Nataša TOPLAK The magic world of whiskey microbiota Acta Agriculturae Slovenica whiskey metagenomics bacteria |
| title | The magic world of whiskey microbiota |
| title_full | The magic world of whiskey microbiota |
| title_fullStr | The magic world of whiskey microbiota |
| title_full_unstemmed | The magic world of whiskey microbiota |
| title_short | The magic world of whiskey microbiota |
| title_sort | magic world of whiskey microbiota |
| topic | whiskey metagenomics bacteria |
| url | https://journals.uni-lj.si/aas/article/view/12975 |
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