Data-Driven Prediction of Molecular Biotransformations in Food Fermentation

Fermentation products, together with food components, determine the sense, nutrition, and safety of fermented foods. Traditional methods of fermentation product identification are time-consuming and cumbersome, which cannot meet the increasing need for the identification of the extensive bioactive metabolites produced during food fermentation. Hence, we propose a data-driven integrated platform (FFExplorer, http://www.rxnfinder.org/ffexplorer/) based on machine learning and data on 2,192,862 microbial sequence-encoded enzymes for computational prediction of fermentation products. Using FFExplorer, we explained the mechanism behind the disappearance of spicy taste during pepper fermentation and evaluated the detoxification effects of microbial fermentation for common food contaminants. FFExplorer will provide a valuable reference for inferring bioactive “dark matter” in fermented foods and exploring the application potential of microorganisms.