Role of Lactiplantibacillus paraplantarum during anaerobic storage of ear-removed corn on biogas production.

To optimize the volatile fatty acid production for anaerobic fermentation, the ear-removed corn was ensiled without (control) or with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LP), Lacticaseibacillus paracasei (LC) and L. paraplantarum (LpP). Inoculation of LpP increased acetic acid content by 40%, and decreased butyric acid content by 38% in relative to control. Moreover, inoculation of LpP decreased the bacterial alpha diversity indices, while inherent species of Lentilactobacillus buchneri and L. hilgardii dominated the anaerobic fermentation. In particular, inoculation of LpP restricted the growth of yeasts and production of propionic acid at the early stage of storage, but continuously stimulated anaerobic fermentation, resulting in a higher maximal cumulative gas emissions of methane (by about 20 %) than that of LP and LC. Therefore, inoculation of LpP during anaerobic storage was favorable to produce intermediate metabolites (acetic acid) for subsequent biogas production of ear-removed corn.