Bacterial and Fungal Communities of as Revealed by PCR-DGGE Analysis.

is the sole variety of fermented milk originating in Italy. Despite the long history of consumption, still represents an undisclosed source of microbial diversity. The present study was aimed to get an insight into the bacterial and fungal diversity of samples collected from two artisan producers located in Sardinia. To this end 3 batches of were collected from each producer and subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analyses. was produced with sheep milk in accordance with the local tradition. Regarding the bacterial population, a low biodiversity emerged. In more detail, the sole species subsp. was detected in all the samples, irrespective of the producer or the batch. A more ample microbial diversity was highlighted for the fungal population that included closest relatives to , and . Based on the results, the detected bacterial and fungal species generally clustered in accordance with the producer, irrespective of the batch considered. It is noteworthy that, revealed several microbiological similarities with kefir beverage, thus suggesting, by analogy, potential health benefits related to its consumption. More research is needed to better clarify the microbiota composition of by using more powerful metagenomic techniques.