Metagenomic Microbial Diversity in Aguamiel from Two Agave Species During 4-Year Seasons

Aguamiel is the sap of “maguey pulquero” and can be consumed as a fresh beverage or after a cooking process. Further, it is also fermented for the production of “pulque,” a traditional Mexican alcoholic beverage. Use of aguamiel as a functional beverage has been suggested due to prebiotic activity of its fructooligosaccharides and probiotic activity of lactic acid bacteria that it contains. There are some reports about the culturable microbial diversity in aguamiel; however, the total microbial diversity has not been characterized. The objective of this study was to identify metagenomic populations in aguamiel using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and 26SrRNA gene regions. Microbial diversity in aguamiel from two maguey species was evaluated: Agave salmiana and Agave atrovirens, during the four seasons of the year. The highest diversity was found during summer season in aguamiel samples from both Agave species, detecting presence of Leuconostoc sp., Leuconostoc gelidum, Lactococcus lactis, Enterococcus casseliflavus, Pediococcus sp., uncultured Trichococcus sp., uncultured Leuconostoc, uncultured Lactococcus, Kazachstania zonata (not previously reported in aguamiel), Kluyveromyces marxianus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Knowledge about the microbial populations of this beverage throughout the different seasons will provide advantages through understanding of aguamiel for application areas such as syrup elaboration and pulque making. In addition, this beverage could be industrialized as a functional beverage with a consistent quality.