Bacterial diversity in traditional Jiaozi and sourdough revealed by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons

•Bacterial diversity of Jiaozi A and D was different from that of sourdough.•Genus Acetobacter and Pediococcus was predominant in A and D, respectively.•Genus Lactobacillus dominated sourdough B5 and Weissella dominated B4.

The bacterial communities of 4 dough fermentation starter samples, including Jiaozi A and D and sourdough B4 and B5 selected from Henan, Jiangsu, and Liaoning province of China were compared by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. The highest number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was found for the genus Acetobacter in Jiaozi A, but only OTUs adapted to dough conditions after 8 h (A8) and 24 h (A24) of fermentation using Jiaozi A as dough starter. Members belonging to the genus Pediococcus appeared to dominate in Jiaozi D, especially in the dough (D24) fermented for 24 h started by Jiaozi D. The genus Lactobacillus dominated in sourdough B5, A8, and A24. Weissella was the predominant genus in sourdough B4, and members of the genera Leuconostoc and Lactococcus were also identified.