ArticleCommunications biology2025
The core microbiomes and associated metabolic potential of water kefir as revealed by pan multi-omics.
Article in Communications biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Water kefir as a paradigm for multi-omics and genome-scale metabolic modelling in fermented food.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Review
- Adopting omics-based approaches to facilitate the establishment of microbial consortia to generate reproducible fermented foods with desirable properties.NPJ science of food · 2026Review
- Water kefir multi-omics reveals functional redundancies despite taxonomic differences and the underappreciated contribution of yeast.NPJ science of food · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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Abstract
Water kefir (WK) is an artisanal fermented beverage made from sugary water, optional fruits and WK grains. WK grains can be reused to start new fermentations. Here we investigate the microbial composition and function of 69 WK grains and their ferments by shotgun metagenomics. A subset of samples was subjected to metabolomic, including volatilomic, analysis. The impact of different fermentation practices on microbial composition and fermentation characteristics was analysed and it was noted that, for example, the common practice of drying water kefir grains significantly reduces microbial diversity and negatively impacts subsequent grain growth. Metagenomic analysis allowed the detection of 96 species within WK, the definition of core genera and the detection of different community states after 48 h of fermentation. A total of 485 bacterial metagenome assembled genomes were obtained and 18 putatively novel species were predicted. Metabolite and volatile analysis show associations between key species with flavour compounds. We show the complex microbial composition of WK and links between fermentation practices, microbes and the fermented product. The results can be used as a foundation for the selection of species for large scale WK production with desired flavour profiles and to guide the regulatory framework for commercial WK production.
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Registered trials
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