Assessing the xylanolytic bacterial diversity during the malting process.

The presence of microorganisms producing cell wall hydrolyzing enzymes such as xylanases during malting can improve mash filtration behavior and consequently have potential for more efficient wort production. In this study, the xylanolytic bacterial community during malting was assessed by isolation and cultivation on growth media containing arabinoxylan, and identification by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A total of 33 species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were found, taking into account a 3% sequence dissimilarity cut-off, belonging to four phyla (Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria) and 25 genera.