Kombucha: a novel model system for cooperation and conflict in a complex multi-species microbial ecosystem

Kombucha, a fermented tea beverage with an acidic and effervescent taste, is composed of a multispecies microbial ecosystem with complex interactions that are characterized by both cooperation and conflict. In kombucha, a complex community of bacteria and yeast initiates the fermentation of a starte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 7; p. e7565
Main Authors: May, Alexander, Narayanan, Shrinath, Alcock, Joe, Varsani, Arvind, Maley, Carlo, Aktipis, Athena
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States PeerJ. Ltd 03.09.2019
PeerJ, Inc
PeerJ Inc
Subjects:
Analysis
Bacteria
Behavioral evolution
Beverages
Biofilms
Carbohydrate metabolism
Cellulose
Community
Competition
Conflict
Cooperation
Domestication
Ecosystems
Environmental aspects
Ethanol
Evolution
Evolutionary Studies
Fermentation
Food
Food Science and Technology
Green tea
Microbiology
Microorganisms
Novels
Public good
Researchers
Sucrose
Symbiosis
Tea
Tea (Beverage)
Competition
Symbiosis
Conflict
Cooperation
Artificial selection
Biofilm
Evolution
Fermentation
Community
Microbiome
ISSN:2167-8359, 2167-8359
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Kombucha, a fermented tea beverage with an acidic and effervescent taste, is composed of a multispecies microbial ecosystem with complex interactions that are characterized by both cooperation and conflict. In kombucha, a complex community of bacteria and yeast initiates the fermentation of a starter tea (usually black or green tea with sugar), producing a biofilm that covers the liquid over several weeks. This happens through several fermentative phases that are characterized by cooperation and competition among the microbes within the kombucha solution. Yeast produce invertase as a public good that enables both yeast and bacteria to metabolize sugars. Bacteria produce a surface biofilm which may act as a public good providing protection from invaders, storage for resources, and greater access to oxygen for microbes embedded within it. The ethanol and acid produced during the fermentative process (by yeast and bacteria, respectively) may also help to protect the system from invasion by microbial competitors from the environment. Thus, kombucha can serve as a model system for addressing important questions about the evolution of cooperation and conflict in diverse multispecies systems. Further, it has the potential to be artificially selected to specialize it for particular human uses, including the development of antimicrobial ecosystems and novel materials. Finally, kombucha is easily-propagated, non-toxic, and inexpensive, making it an excellent system for scientific inquiry and citizen science.
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ISSN:2167-8359
2167-8359
DOI:10.7717/peerj.7565