Conclusions
Two culture-independent methods were used to evaluate the
microbial diversity of three Brazilian kefir grains: PCR-DGGE and
pyrosequencing. Both techniques showed Lb. kefiranofaciens to be
dominant, while DGGE showed S. cerevisiae to be the main
eukaryotic microorganism. Pyrosequencing analysis also allowed
the identification of minor bacterial components. For the complete
description of the microbial communities of the kefir grains,
pyrosequencing analysis using specific primers for eukaryotic and
archaea organisms should also be performed.