Bacterial diversity and flavor profile of Zha-Chili, a traditional fermented food in China

• Published in: Food research international Vol. 141; p. 110112
• Main Authors: Cai, Wenchao, Tang, Fengxian, Wang, Yurong, Zhang, Zhendong, Xue, Yuang, Zhao, Xinxin, Guo, Zhuang, Shan, Chunhui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada Elsevier Ltd 01-03-2021
• Subjects: Bacterial diversity; Electronic nose; Electronic tongue; Flavor; Functional prediction; Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing; Electronic tongue; Bacterial diversity; Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing; Flavor; Electronic nose; Functional prediction
• ISSN: 0963-9969; 1873-7145
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110112

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•First study on bacterial diversity of zha-chili using high-throughput sequencing.•Bacterial communities in zha-chili are rich and diverse.•The place of origin affects the bacterial community structure and flavor of zha-chilli.•Lactobacillus dominates the bacterial community, metabolism and flavor of zha-chilli.
Zha-chili is a traditional Chinese fermented food with special flavor, which is often used as an appetizer in condiments and an important energy source. The final quality of zha-chili is closely related to its microbial community structure. However, the differences of bacterial diversity in zha-chili from different regions and how bacterial species affect zha-chili fermentation process and flavor quality have not been reported. In this study, the bacterial diversity and flavor quality of zha-chili samples from different regions were analyzed using Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing, electronic nose and electronic tongue technology. Twenty-three bacterial phyla and 665 bacterial genera were identified in all zha-chili samples. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla in zha-chili samples, while Lactobacillus, Pseudomonas, Pediococcus, Weissella and Staphylococcus were the dominant bacterial genera. The bacterial community structure of zha-chili samples from different regions was significantly diverse (p < 0.05). The flavor of zha-chili samples also varied in different regions, and the discrepancy of taste was much greater than that of aroma. Moreover, there were significant correlations (p < 0.05) between 6 dominant bacterial genera and 8 flavor indicators (3 aroma indicators, 5 taste indicators). In addition, the results of microbiome phenotypes prediction by BugBase and bacterial functional potential prediction using PICRUSt showed that eight out of nine predicted phenotypic functions of zha-chili samples from different regions were significantly different (p < 0.05), bacterial metabolism was vigorous in the zha-chili samples, and Lactobacillus was the dominant bacterial genus involved in metabolism during fermentation.