Changes in Bacterial and Chemical Components and Growth Prediction for Lactobacillus sakei during Kimoto-Style Fermentation Starter Preparation in Sake Brewing: a Comprehensive Analysis.

Kimoto-style seed mash is a traditional preparation method for sake that takes advantage of spontaneous lactic acid fermentation before the growth of yeast. Lactic acid helps decrease the pH in seed mash and control the growth of unfavorable microorganisms. In this study, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of the change in the bacterial community and chemical composition during the lactic acid fermentation stage in kimoto-style seed mash preparation.

Growth Characteristics of Bacillus cereus in Sake and during Its Manufacture.

Abstract: Sake (Japanese rice wine) has been recognized as being low risk in terms of its microbiological safety. However, a confirmation of the food safety aspects of sake based on scientific evidence is important for establishing consumer confidence, in part because consumer concerns regarding food safety have increased. The presence of Bacillus cereus spores in refined rice wine has been reported, and in light of consumers' growing concern over food safety, the establishment of food and beverage safety is important for consumers' reassurance.

Evaluation of method bias for determining bacterial populations in bacterial community analyses.

Various methods are used for analyzing a bacterial community. We recently developed a method for quantifying each bacterium constituting the microbiota by combining a next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis with a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (NGS-qPCR) assay. Our NGS-qPCR method is useful for analyzing a comprehensive bacterial community because it is enables the easy calculation of the amounts of each bacterium constituting the microbiota.

Sake yeast YHR032W/ERC1 haplotype contributes to high S-adenosylmethionine accumulation in sake yeast strains.

Sake yeasts are ideally suited for sake making, producing higher levels of ethanol, proliferating at lower temperatures, and producing greater levels of various aromatic components and nutrients than laboratory yeasts. To elucidate the mechanism underlying S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) accumulation in sake yeast strains compared with that in laboratory yeast strains, we performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis and identified a significant QTL on chromosome VIII. Of the 165 genes mapped at 49.