Probiotics are widely used for various fields, such as agriculture, food, and treatment and so on. Akkermansia muciniphila, the candidate for next‐generation probiotics, is an intestinal bacterium that was isolated from a human fecal sample. It has been proved that A. muciniphila is closely related to multiple disease and metabolic disorders. What's more, its functions are not limited to intestinal diseases only, and even affect aging and cognition. Therefore, we would like to summarize the related research progress on A. muciniphila though this review, which help us to learn its role in the microbial networks, as well as to understand its positive impacts on the health of animals and human.

This study aims to figure out the structure of the microbial community in traditional sourdough and the different flavor components of Chinese steamed bread(CSB) made with it. The sourdough samples were selected from Shanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces. The microbial community composition of the sourdoughs was analyzed by a culture-dependent method and high-throughput sequencing, and the flavor compounds of the steamed breads were determined by the solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) method coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). The results showed that: in the 28 samples collected, the pH ranged from 3.50 to 4.91, and the total titratable acid (TTA) values ranged from 2.50 to 7.80 mL of NaOH (1 M), while the total number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) colonies ranged from 10^4 to 10^7 CFU/mL. Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Weissella were the dominant genera, as determined by pyrosequencing. A total of 180 LAB strains were isolated and identified using the 16S rRNA gene; the results indicate that Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus fermentum, and Weissella confusa were isolated with a relatively high frequency. By GC/MS, a total of 24 volatile compounds were detected, including hydrocarbons, aromatic compounds, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, acids, etc. Benzeneethanol and benzaldehyde were abundant in all five samples detected, while benzene-propoxyethyl was not detected in the control group.The flavor compounds contained in sourdough fermented CSBs, both in terms of quantity and concentration, are higher than those in yeast-fermented CSBs. This study provides a useful base for further exploring the deep connections between microbial communities and food flavors.

Polysaccharides in plants and microorganisms have important application value, and their purification and preparation is a prerequisite for in-depth research. However, there is currently a lack of dedicated separation and purification instruments for polysaccharide substances. In our previous work, a polysaccharide purification instrument (PSPI) was designed using post-column split-flow and post-column derivatization schemes and developed. In this study, the PSPI was applied to separation and preparation of the soybean soluble polysaccharides (SSPSs) and obtained the purified SSPS (SSPS-P). The total carbohydrate content in SSPS-P reached 97.2%, compared to 81.7% in SSPS, and the carbohydrate recovery rate was 86.5%. The composition and structure of SSPS-P have been assessed by HPLC, FT-IR, and NMR. SSPS-P was a polysaccharide with a molecular weight (M_w) of 354 KDa, composed of D-glc, D-gal and L-ara with the molar ratio of 0.02:2.08:1.01. The structure of SSPS-P was mainly →4)-β-galp-(1→unit. The α-L-araf residues were also detected in the form of T-α-L-araf-(1→2)-α-L-araf-(1→, →3)-α-L-araf-(1→ and →3,5)-α-araf-(1→. PSPI could be applied for rapid and precise separation and preparation of polysaccharides.

Ensiling technique is becoming a common way to preserve fresh corn and grass. This study aimed at evaluating the silages’ quality with a new type of inoculants designed based on the microflora information of the native silages. A total of 33 silage samples were analyzed for their microbial community structure by high throughput sequencing. A total of 73 dominant strains were isolated with a clear goal. The corn was ensiled by dominant strains (Lactobacillus buchneri II JC1-5: Acetobacter pasteurianus DHL-8 = 4:3; 109 CFU/g) as inoculants. In a 15-day trial period, the aerobic stability of this inoculated silage was significantly higher than the control group. There was a positive correlation between lactic acid content and pH/mold number (R2 values of 0.64331 and 0.48584, respectively). Compared to the control group, ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) decreased by 57.7%, 12.5%, 1.4%, and 7.5%, respectively; crude protein (CP) increased by 1.1%. Our results indicate that the new type of inoculants can improve the quality of the silage.