A metagenomic survey of bacterial communities from kurut: The fermented cow milk in Kyrgyzstan

Kurut is a traditional dry dairy product mostly consumed in Central Asia. In this study, the distribution of the dominant bacteria present in kurut samples (n=84) originated from seven (Chuy, Issyk‐Kul, Talas, Naryn, Jalal‐Abad, Osh, and Batken) regions in Kyrgyzstan were analyzed with Illumina iSeq100 platform. The dominant phylum detected was Firmicutes followed by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria/Chloroplast, and Tenericutes. The most abundant family detected was Lactobacillaceae followed by Streptococcaceae, Enterococcaceae, Chloroplast, and Leuconostocaceae. At the genus level, Lactobacillus was the predominant one in samples and Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Lactococcus, and Streptophyta followed this. Further comprehensive characterization analyses in kurut samples may have potential applications both in industrial starter culture developments and also future therapeutic approaches based on potential strains with probiotic properties.