Comparison of the Bacterial Community Structures of Ayu-narezushi Produced by Two Different Manufacturers

We analyzed and compared the bacterial communities in ayu-narezushi (narezushi made using the sweetfish) produced by two different manufacturers in Mie Prefecture, Japan, with the 16S ribosomal RNA gene clone library method. The bacterial diversity of ayu-narezushi 1 (Library 1) was higher than that of ayu-narezushi 2 (Library 2). The predominant lactic acid bacteria were Lactobacillus fuchuensis, Lactococcus piscium, and Leuconostoc gelidum in Library 1 and Lactobacillus sakei in Library 2, suggesting that these species play important roles in the fermentation of the 2 samples of ayu-narezushi. The results of LIBSHUFF indicated a significant difference between 2 libraries (P = 0.001).