This study describes the diversity and dynamics of bacterial communities in the fermentation of Hibiscus sabdariffa seeds to produce Mbuja, a traditional condiment from Cameroon, using culture-dependent and independent methods. The total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Bacillus spp. were numbered on specific culture media. The bacterial communities were characterized by PCR-SSCP, sequencing of 16S rRNA clone libraries and community-level physiological profiles. Viable cells counts evidenced the domination of Bacillus spp. during the process, and the continuous decrease of LAB. PCR-SSCP revealed three groups of bacteria succeeding with the first microorganism communities from day 2 to day 7 being similar. The two other groups were communities in day 8 and 9 and those from day 10. The sequencing of clone libraries showed that the first group communities was more diversified and consisted in Bacillus spp., Lactobacillus, Streptomyces and Staphylococcus . The last two groups of bacterial communities involved fewer genera but diverse Bacillus species different from those occurring at the first step. The early phase metabolism profile was exclusively oriented toward carbohydrates and the last targeted broad substrates with amino-acids and organic and carboxylic acids being the most important. This suggests a combination of species in starter formulation.< Leer menos