This preprint is under consideration at Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
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Research
Andrew Flachs
Purdue University
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8754-2050
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background
The composition of the human microbiome varies considerably in diversity and density across communities as a function of the foods we eat and the places we live. While all foods contain microbes, humans directly shape this microbial ecology through fermentation. Fermented foods are produced from microbial reactions that depend on local environmental conditions, fermentation practices, and the manner in which foods are prepared and consumed. These interactions are of special interest to ethnobiologists because they link investigations of how people shape and know the world around them to local knowledge, food traditions, local flora, and microbial taxa.
Methods
In this manuscript, we report on data collected at a fermentation revivalist workshop in Tennessee. To ask how fermentation traditions are learned and influence macro and micro ecologies, we conducted interviews and participated in a four-day craft fermentation workshop, and then collected both fermented food products and stool samples from workshop participants eating those fermented foods.
Results
We identified ten major themes comprised of 29 sub-themes drawn from 326 marked codes in the transcripts. In combination, this analysis allowed us to summarize key experiences with fermentation, particularly those related to a sense of authenticity, place, health, and the discovery of tactile work. From the 605 ASVs shared between food and fecal samples, we identified 25 candidate ASVs that are suspected to have been transmitted from fermented food samples to the gut microbiomes of the workshop participants. Our results indicate that many of the foods prepared and consumed during the workshop were rich sources of probiotic microbes.
Conclusions
By combining these qualitative social and quantitative microbiological data, we suggest that variation in culturally-informed fermentation practices introduces variation in bacterial flora even among very similar foods, and that these food products can influence gut microbial ecology.
Keywords
Ethnozymology, fermentation, heritage, metagenomics, probiotics
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Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 18 Mar, 2021
No community comments so far
Review #2 received
Received 18 Mar, 2021
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 14 Mar, 2021
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 11 Mar, 2021
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 11 Mar, 2021
Review #? received
Received 11 Mar, 2021
Editor assigned
On 10 Mar, 2021
Submission checks complete
On 10 Mar, 2021
Editor invited
On 10 Mar, 2021
First submitted
On 10 Mar, 2021
Metrics
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Subject Areas
Translational Medicine
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This preprint is under consideration at Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research
Andrew Flachs
Purdue University
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8754-2050
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 18 Mar, 2021
No community comments so far
Review #2 received
Received 18 Mar, 2021
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 14 Mar, 2021
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 11 Mar, 2021
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 11 Mar, 2021
Review #? received
Received 11 Mar, 2021
Editor assigned
On 10 Mar, 2021
Submission checks complete
On 10 Mar, 2021
Editor invited
On 10 Mar, 2021
First submitted
On 10 Mar, 2021
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Translational Medicine
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background
The composition of the human microbiome varies considerably in diversity and density across communities as a function of the foods we eat and the places we live. While all foods contain microbes, humans directly shape this microbial ecology through fermentation. Fermented foods are produced from microbial reactions that depend on local environmental conditions, fermentation practices, and the manner in which foods are prepared and consumed. These interactions are of special interest to ethnobiologists because they link investigations of how people shape and know the world around them to local knowledge, food traditions, local flora, and microbial taxa.
Methods
In this manuscript, we report on data collected at a fermentation revivalist workshop in Tennessee. To ask how fermentation traditions are learned and influence macro and micro ecologies, we conducted interviews and participated in a four-day craft fermentation workshop, and then collected both fermented food products and stool samples from workshop participants eating those fermented foods.
Results
We identified ten major themes comprised of 29 sub-themes drawn from 326 marked codes in the transcripts. In combination, this analysis allowed us to summarize key experiences with fermentation, particularly those related to a sense of authenticity, place, health, and the discovery of tactile work. From the 605 ASVs shared between food and fecal samples, we identified 25 candidate ASVs that are suspected to have been transmitted from fermented food samples to the gut microbiomes of the workshop participants. Our results indicate that many of the foods prepared and consumed during the workshop were rich sources of probiotic microbes.
Conclusions
By combining these qualitative social and quantitative microbiological data, we suggest that variation in culturally-informed fermentation practices introduces variation in bacterial flora even among very similar foods, and that these food products can influence gut microbial ecology.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
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