Microbiome Analysis of Sugarcane Juices and Biofilms from Louisiana Raw Sugar Factories

Abstract

Amplicon-based sequencing was utilized to address long-ignored gaps in microbiological knowledge about the diversity of microbes present in processing streams at Louisiana sugarcane raw sugar factories. These results support an emerging model where diverse organisms contribute to sugarcane juice degradation, help to contextualize microbial contamination problems faced by raw sugar factories, and will guide future studies on biocontrol measures to mitigate sucrose losses and operational challenges due to exopolysaccharide production.