Abstract
The taxonomic composition and spatial localization of yeast and bacteria in kefi r grains (KG) obtained for study from diff erent regions of the planet were investigated. The diversity of their microbiome has been demonstrated by high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and the ITS1 region of the 18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-28S complex of yeast rRNA. It has been established that the main representatives of the complex community of KG from diff erent regions are lactic acid bacteria (LAB; lactobacilli, lactococci and Leuconostoc spp. in diff erent ratios), and diff erent types of yeast of the genus Kazachstania (family Saccharomycetaceae). Acetic acid bacteria and a small percentage of yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus were detected in the KG from Tibet, and yeast Pichia kluyveri was detected in the KG from Ossetia.