Microbiome catalog and dynamics of the Chinese liquor fermentation process

Fermented food remains poorly understood, largely due to the lack of knowledge about microbes in food fermentation. Here, this study constructed Moutai Fermented Grain Catalog (MTFGC), a representative liquor fermented by one of the most complex fermentations. MTFGC comprised 8,379,551 non-redundant genes and 5,159 metagenome-assembled genomes, with 20% species and 20% genes being novel. Additionally, 25,625 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) and 28 BGC-enriched species were identified. Moreover, the microbial community assembly was deterministic, with significant species and gene changes in early fermentation stages, while stabilizing in later stages. Further BGC-knockout experiments verified Bacillus licheniformis, a BGC-enriched species, employed its BGCs for synthesizing the aroma-related lipopeptide lichenysin. This study has established the largest genetic resource for fermented food, uncovering its uniqueness and high metabolic potential. These findings facilitate the transition potential from traditional fermentation to precision-driven synthetic biology in food systems.