Abstract: In this study, we analyzed the microbial community structure of Luzhou-flavor liquor Daqu samples collected from different regions of Sichuan province by high throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the dominant bacteria in the Daqu were Staphylococcus, Weissella, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Kroppenstedtia, Thermoactinomyces, Saccharopolyspora, and Brevibacterium. The proportions of Thermoactinomyces and Weissella in Yibin Daqu and Luzhou Daqu, with higher temperature, were higher than those in two samples of Suining Daqu. The dominant strains in Suining Daqu were Staphylococcus and Bacillus, and Staphylococcus was much higher than in Yibin Daqu and Luzhou Daqu. On the other hand, the fungal communities in all four Daqu samples were predominated mainly by Thermomyces, Aspergillus, Thermoascus, Byssochlamys, and Wallemia. In Yibin and Luzhou samples, Thermomyces and Thermoascus were the dominant species, and their proportions were much higher than those in Suining Daqu. Aspergillus was the dominant species in Suining Daqu, and its proportion was much higher than those in Yibin Daqu and Luzhou Daqu. The diversities of bacteria and fungi in Suining Daqu were higher than in Yibin Daqu and Luzhou Daqu. Principal component analysis revealed that the microbial community structures of the Suining samples were more similar to each other while the microbial community structure of Yibin Daqu was more similar to Luzhou Daqu.

Key words: Daqu, microbial community, high-throughput sequencing, principal component analysis