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

Abstract

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.

Effect of Fermentation Time on Antioxidant and Anti-Ageing Properties of Green Coffee Kombucha Ferments

“…Ferments obtained using this microbiological consortium of several bacteria and yeast, called kombucha, quickly found a wide range of consumers due to their unusual properties. Fermentation products are obtained thanks to symbiotic cooperation of the community of acetic acid bacteria (Acetobacteraceae) and osmophilic yeast [7,8]. Although the "kombucha" refers mainly to ferments made from various types of tea, currently, attempts are being made to obtain bioferments using SCOBY also from other plant materials such as, for example, mint, lemon balm, jasmine, spinach, fermented fruit juices, banana peels, milk or even bee-collected pollen [7,9,10].…”

Formation of dialysis-free Kombucha-based bacterial nanocellulose embedded in a polypyrrole/PVA composite for bulk conductivity measurements

“…33 Kombucha has been investigated as a novel model system for cooperativity in a complex multi-species microbial ecosystem. 34 The AAB combined with yeasts (the inoculum) have been identied as the main microorganisms during Kombucha fermentation. 35,36 In this study, we prepared BC from Kombucha tea derived from fermented sugary tea inoculated with bacteria and yeast, known as a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY).…”

From Microbial Communities to Distributed Computing Systems

“…Table summarizes the ecological interactions engineered in discussed studies where the colored dots refer to the methods used to implement the interaction. Hibbing et al, 2010;Freilich et al, 2011;Foster and Bell, 2012;Zelezniak et al, 2015;May et al, 2019). Using these principles, groups have attempted to engineer interactions as a means to ensure coexistence within synthetic microbial communities.…”