Microflora of Mana, a Nepalese rice koji

A rice koji Mana sample obtained in Nepal contained 1.5 × 106 cfu/g of Mucorales, 3.5 × 107 cfu/g of aspergilli and 1.1 × 105 cfu/g of lactic acid bacteria, while yeast was present at less than 103 cfu/g. All of the isolates of Aspergillus (5 strains) had metulae with length of 7–15 μm and proved to be aflatoxin-negative. The sequence of partial 18S rRNA gene of the isolate was identical to those of Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus flavus. The isolates had the same restriction enzyme cleavage patterns of genomic DNA as that of A. oryzae. A. oryzae was found to be a dominant species in the Mana sample prepared with steamed rice.