ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Ecological Isolation by the Chishui River Drives Microecology Divergence in Daqu
Provisionally accepted
- 1Moutai Institut, Zunyi, China
- 2Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd, Renhuai, China
- 3Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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The Chishui River creates a barrier promoting distinct microecologies in Daqu from opposite banks. Utilizing qu-omics, this study investigated metabolic phenotypes, microbial community composition, and functional differentiation in Daqu from both riverbanks. Results showed significant geographical variations in volatile profiles and compound distributions. Microbial structures differed notably, with variations observed in the abundance of dominant genera. These included Kroppenstedtia, Oceanobacillus, Saccharopolyspora, Pallidibacillus, Aspergillus, Monascus, Talaromyces, and Rhizopus. Functional differences were also observed in the expression of key microorganisms such as Bacillus, Weissella, Pichia, Rhizopus, and Aspergillus. Network analysis revealed divergent interaction patterns across the riverbanks. Specifically, positive bacterial interactions increased from the right to the left bank, whereas fungal cooperation showed a marked decrease. Distinct functional specializations were identified for each region. Right-bank Daqu exhibited upregulated oxidative phosphorylation, as well as starch, sucrose, and glutathione metabolism. Conversely, left-bank Daqu was characterized by enhanced purine, monobactam, and nitrogen metabolism. Significantly, the river barrier influenced fungal community assembly, which was characterized by stochastic processes on the right bank and deterministic assembly on the left. This study introduces the concept of “ecological isolation” to Daqu microecology for the first time. It highlights how geographical barriers drive functional differentiation, offering vital implications for Baijiu quality regulation.
Keywords: Ecological isolation, high-temperature Daqu, Microecology, multivariate statistical analysis, Qu-omics
Received: 12 Jan 2026; Accepted: 06 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Song, Zhong, Mu, Huang and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Liang Yang
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