Phenotypic identification and monitoring of the dynamics of naturally occurring microbial community responsible for the spontaneous fermentation of different cereal-legume weaning blends was carried out. Enumeration using culture-dependent method showed that cell counts increased within the first 24 h with the highest total viable count of 1.2 x 10¹² cfu g^-1 in maize-legume (1A) blend. Yeast counts increased drastically and no enterobacteria were observed within the first 24 h. At all fermentation times, acidity increased within 48 h and lowest pH value (3.60) was reached in maize–based blend.  Phenotypic identification revealed that the isolated bacteria belong to the generaBacillus species, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. The yeast isolates were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces species andHansenula species while Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici were the predominant lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The analysis of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) pattern obtained with bacterial and LAB primers targeting the V3 region of the 16S rDNA genes clearly demonstrated that there was a major shift in the community structure within the first 24 h.

Key words: Successional changes, microbial communities, fermented weaning foods, PCR-DGGE.