The Fungal Communities and Flavor Profiles in Different Types of High-Temperature Daqu as Revealed by High-Throughput Sequencing and Electronic Senses

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology Vol. 12; p. 784651
• Main Authors: Cai, Wenchao, Xue, Yu'ang, Wang, Yurong, Wang, Wenping, Shu, Na, Zhao, Huijun, Tang, Fengxian, Yang, Xinquan, Guo, Zhuang, Shan, Chunhui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 02-12-2021
• Subjects: electronic nose; electronic tongue; fungal diversity; high-temperature Daqu; Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing; Microbiology; sauce-flavor Baijiu; Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing; sauce-flavor Baijiu; electronic nose; fungal diversity; high-temperature Daqu; electronic tongue
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.784651

Polymicrobial co-fermentation is among the distinct character of high-temperature Daqu. However, fungal communities in the three types of high-temperature Daqu, namely, white high-temperature Daqu, black high-temperature Daqu, and yellow high-temperature Daqu, are yet to be characterized. In this study, the fungal diversity, taste, and aroma profiles in the three types of high-temperature Daqu were investigated by Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing, electronic tongue, and electronic nose, respectively. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were detected as the absolute dominant fungal phylum in all types of high-temperature Daqu samples, whereas
,
,
,
,
, and
were identified as the dominant fungal genera. The fungal communities of the three types of high-temperature Daqu differed significantly (
< 0.05), and
,
, and
could serve as the biomarkers in white high-temperature Daqu, black high-temperature Daqu, and yellow high-temperature Daqu, respectively. The three types of high-temperature Daqu had an extremely significant difference (
< 0.01) in flavor: white high-temperature Daqu was characterized by sourness, bitterness, astringency, richness, methane, alcohols, ketones, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur organic compounds; black high-temperature Daqu was characterized by aftertaste-A, aftertaste-B, methane-aliph, hydrogen, and aromatic compounds; and yellow high-temperature Daqu was characterized by saltiness, umami, methane, alcohols, ketones, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur organic compounds. The fungal communities in the three types of high-temperature Daqu were significantly correlated with taste but not with aroma, and the aroma of high-temperature Daqu was mainly influenced by the dominant fungal genera including
,
,
, and
. The result of the present study enriched and refined our knowledge of high-temperature Daqu, which had positive implications for the development of traditional brewing technique.