Abstract
Multispecies solid-state fermentation (MSSF), a natural fermentation process driven by reproducible microbiota, is an important technique to produce traditional fermented foods. Flavours, skeleton of fermented foods, was mostly produced by microbiota in food ecosystem. However, the association between microbiota and flavours and flavour-producing core microbiota are still poorly understood. Here, acetic acid fermentation (AAF) of Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar was taken as a typical case of MSSF. The structural and functional dynamics of microbiota during AAF process was determined by metagenomics and favour analyses. The dominant bacteria and fungi were identified as Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, Aspergillus, and Alternaria, respectively. Total 88 flavours including 2 sugars, 9 organic acids, 18 amino acids, and 59 volatile flavours were detected during AAF process. O2PLS-based correlation analysis between microbiota succession and flavours dynamics showed bacteria made more contribution to flavour formation than fungi. Seven genera including Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, Enhydrobacter, Lactococcus, Gluconacetobacer, Bacillus and Staphylococcus were determined as functional core microbiota for production of flavours in Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar, based on their dominance and functionality in microbial community. This study provides a perspective for bridging the gap between the phenotype and genotype of ecological system, and advances our understanding of MSSF mechanisms in Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar.
Highlights
Multispecies solid-state fermentation (MSSF), a natural fermentation process driven by reproducible microbiota, is an important technique to produce traditional fermented foods
As for bacteria, Lactobacillus was predominant in the early stage of acetic acid fermentation (AAF), while Acetobacter, Lactococcus, Gluconacetobacter, Enterococcus, and Bacillus were prevailing in the later stage of AAF
Gluconacetobacter, Enterococcus, and Bacillus might originate from the raw materials (#v_mp), which were increasing with the proceeding of AAF (Fig. 1a)
Summary
Multispecies solid-state fermentation (MSSF), a natural fermentation process driven by reproducible microbiota, is an important technique to produce traditional fermented foods. Seven genera including Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, Enhydrobacter, Lactococcus, Gluconacetobacer, Bacillus and Staphylococcus were determined as functional core microbiota for production of flavours in Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar, based on their dominance and functionality in microbial community. Enhanced by repeated practices for years, specific microbiota have been well characterised and their potential in food industry has been exploited intentionally[3,4,5] It can be concluded the success of MSSF could rely on the reproducible formation of well-balanced microbiota, which determines the safety, smell, taste, texture, and aroma of fermented foods. With the development of ecological techniques there are increasing studies to investigate food fermentation, focusing on the patterns/dynamics of the multi-species microbiota[4,5,6,7] and the functionality of the microbial community[6,8,9,10]. The correlation between microbiota and flavours and flavour-producing core microbiota remain to be determined in fermented vinegars
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