This work demonstrated for the first time that lactic acid and
Lactobacillus species were found to be dominant product and genus
in potato waste fermentation process that used undefined mixed
cultures as inocula. Illumina sequencing results revealed that
unique microbial communities with more than 96% Lactobacillus
were selected in all three fermenters, and differences of Lactobacil-
lus sp. were also observed with species-level taxonomic assign-
ments. These findings show the robustness and resilience of
microbial communities in lactic acid fermentation of PPW with
undefined mixed cultures and provide alternative solutions for
the use and management of PPW and potentially other carbohy-
drate wastes.