Abstract: In order to explore the succession of microorganism communities in fermented grains from Chinese Luzhou-flavor liquor production, we investigated the temporal and spatial changes of microbial communities by clone analysis. The community diversity parameters calculated based on clone distribution suggested that microbial community diversity showed temporal and spatial variations. The data of species and ecological factors were analyzed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) using CANOCO 4.5. The species (or sites)-environment biplot of CCA were automatically mapped using CANODRAW 4.0 and the relationships of the ecological distribution of the fermented grains microorganism species and communities with the ecological factors were clearly revealed on these biplots. The results showed that the acidity, ethanol and humidity had important influences on the microbial community composition. The bulk of microorganism species adapted to grow in low acidity condition and only a few microorganisms could live in high acidity condition. The microorganism communities responded to changes of ecological factors along with fermentation, towards a community tolerant of high levels of ethanol and acidity.

Key words: Chinese Luzhou-flavor liquor, fermentation lees, community succession