Study casts new light on origins of dairy fermentation
研究新发现揭示奶制品发酵起源
A groundbreaking study conducted by Chinese scientists has shed new light on the origins of dairy fermentation practices dating back thousands of years. The study, published in the journal Cell, offers a glimpse into the lives of Bronze Age people and their innovative food production techniques. The samples of kefir cheese, found in a cemetery in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are around 3,500 years old and could be the most ancient variety of cheese known to humans.
中国科学家的开创性研究揭示了数千年前奶制品发酵实践的起源。该研究发表于《细胞》，让读者得以一窥青铜时代人类生活及其创新食品生产技术。开菲尔奶酪样本出土于新疆维吾尔自治区墓地，距今约3500年，可能是人类已知最古老的奶酪品种。
The research team, led by Fu Qiaomei, director of the Molecular Paleontology Laboratory at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, extracted high-quality genomes of Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, a bacterial species used for fermentation, from the cheese samples found inside mummies at the Xiaohe cemetery, located in Xinjiang's Bayingolin Mongol autonomous prefecture. "This indicates that residents of Xiaohe were already using kefir grains to make kefir yogurt or cheese, demonstrating ancient wisdom and craftsmanship in using fermentation microbes to ferment dairy products," Fu said.
该团队由中国科学院分子古生物学实验室主任付巧妹带领，从新疆巴音郭楞蒙古自治州小河墓地的木乃伊体内发现奶酪样本，从中提取出高质量马乳酒样乳杆菌基因组，该菌种用于发酵。付巧妹表示，“这表明小河居民早已使用开菲尔粒制作开菲尔酸奶或奶酪，展现了其利用发酵微生物发酵乳制品的古老智慧和工艺。”
The study challenges the long-held belief that kefir spread from the Northern Caucasus to Europe and other regions, as it found an additional spreading route of kefir from Xinjiang to inland East Asia. The spread of dairy fermentation techniques largely accompanied human migration and interaction, which in turn drove the evolution of lactic acid bacteria.
长期以来人们认为开菲尔从北高加索传播到欧洲和其他地区，该研究发现了开菲尔从新疆传播到东亚内陆的另一条传播路线，从而挑战了现有观点。乳制品发酵技术的传播在很大程度上伴随着人类的迁徙和互动，进而推动了乳酸菌的演化。
The research team reconstructed the ancient L. kefiranofaciens genomes and found two important strains, one originating in Europe and the other in East Asia. The European strain originated in Russia's Caucasus region, while the East Asian one originated in the Xizang autonomous region of China, according to the study.
研究团队重建了古老的马乳酒样乳杆菌基因组，发现了两种重要菌株：一种起源于欧洲，另一种起源于东亚。研究表明，欧洲菌株起源于俄罗斯高加索地区，而东亚菌株起源于中国西藏自治区。
The Russian strain is currently widely used globally, including in Europe, the United States and Japan, for making yogurt and cheese. "The strain used by the residents of Xiaohe for fermentation is closely related to a less common group of L. kefiranofaciens that originated in Xizang. Xinjiang and Xizang are at the source of this East Asian transmission route," Fu said. She added that before this study, no DNA research had been conducted on fermented products anywhere in the world.
俄罗斯菌株目前在全球范围内广泛用于制作酸奶和奶酪，包括欧洲、美国和日本。付巧妹表示，“小河居民发酵时使用的菌株与一种不太常见的马乳酒样乳杆菌群密切相关，这种菌群起源于西藏。新疆和西藏是这种东亚传播途径的源头。”她补充说，此研究之前，全球学界未对发酵产品进行过DNA研究。
William Taylor, an anthropologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, described the study as groundbreaking, highlighting how cheese and dairy products were foundational to ancient ways of life. Yang Yimin, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that organic residues provide valuable insights into human behavior and culture that have been lost in time. "It is exciting to see how much information can be retrieved from these cheese samples," he added.
科罗拉多大学博尔德分校人类学家威廉·泰勒称该研究具有开创性，强调了奶酪和乳制品是古代生活方式的基础。中国科学院大学教授杨益民表示，有机残留物为了解已经消失的人类行为和文化提供了宝贵线索。他补充道，“看到从奶酪样本中可以提取出如此多的信息，真是令人兴奋。”
