Bacterial Community Structure and Dynamics During Corn-Based Bioethanol Fermentation

Corn-based fuel ethanol facilities mix enzymatically treated, gelatinized corn starch with water to generate a “mash” that is used as the substrate in large-scale (∼500,000 gallon) yeast-based fermentations. In contrast to other food and beverage fermentations (e.g., cheese, wine), bioethanol production is presumed to be optimal when bacteria are absent from the fermentation—thus maximizing conversion of glucose to ethanol—yet the facilities are not sterilized. Culture-based analysis has suggested that lactic acid bacteria occupy this niche and, under certain circumstances, can outcompete the dedicated fermentation yeast for nutrients. Here, we use 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to probe bacterial community structure during bioethanol fermentation. Nineteen total batches from five corn-based fuel ethanol fermentation facilities were analyzed. From each batch, five samples were taken. This includes the contents of the yeast propagation tank at inoculation, three samples taken at intervals during the fermentation, and a sample taken at the end of fermentation. Bacterial community structure was compared with time, between facility, between fermentor, between batches from the same fermentor, and against environmental variables within each fermentation. Communities were dominated by members of the Firmicutes and Proteobacteria phyla, with lactic acid bacteria dominating the communities in two of the five facilities. In the other facilities, Proteobacteria (largely members of the Pseudomonas and Escherichia-Shigella genera) outcompete the lactic acid bacteria. In most cases, the yeast propagation tank inoculum imparted a rich bacterial community, but the batches vary regarding whether this inoculum was the primary driver of the fermentation community structure.