Isolation and characterization of indigo-reducing bacteria and analysis of microbiota from indigo-fermentation suspension

The traditional indigo dyeing in Japan has been carried out in the indigo fermenting solutions using the composted indigo leaves called sukumo Management of microbial flora in fermented liquid is very important to keep the dyeing power in the indigo fermentation solutions. In this study, we investigated whether different types of sukumo affect the microbial flora in indigo fermentation solutions and whether there is a correlation between dying power and the microbial flora. The indigo fermentation solutions (45 L) of Vat A and Vat B were prepared with the sukumo derived from facilities related to traditional crafts (Wazanoyakata in Tokushima prefecture of Japan) and made at Nii Seiaisyo in 2018, respectively. The indigo fermentation solutions (45 L) of Vat 1, and Vat 2 were prepared with sukumo made at the sukumo factory of Nii Seiaisyo in 2019. The V4 region of the archaea and bacterial 16S rRNA genes were PCR amplified for next-generation sequencing. Here are the data of such 8 samples.