Taxonomic profiling of the barley microbiota during pilotscale malting using Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing

Microbes are part of the malting ecosystem and thus have a significant impact on the quality of the final malt. Characterization of the barley microflora during malting is therefore essential for process control and optimization. In this preliminary study, we optimized a protocol for the characterization of the epiphytic microflora from barley grains during a pilot-scale malting trial. The protocol entails extraction of high-molecular weight DNA from the microbial cells dislodged surfaces of barley grains. DNA sequencing using the Oxford Nanopore and Taxonomic profiling using the DIAMOND-MEGAN pipeline.