The microbial community structure in traditional fermented foods is quite complex, making the relationship between strains unclear. In this regard, the co-culture system can simulate microbial interactions during food fermentation and reveal the morphological changes, metabolic processes, and gene expression of microbial communities. The present study sought to investigate the effects of microbial interactions on the growth of Aspergillus oryzae and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii through omics. After co-cultivation, the pH value and dry weight were consistent with the pure culture of Z. rouxii. Additionally, the consumption of reducing sugar decreased, and the enzymatic activity increased compared with the pure culture of fungus. The analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and transcriptomics showed that co-culture significantly promoted the effect on Z. rouxii. A total of 6 different VOCs and 2202 differentially expressed genes were identified in the pure and co-culture of Z. rouxii. The differentially expressed genes were mainly related to the endonucleolytic cleavage of rRNA, ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes, and RNA polymerase metabolic pathways. The study results will provide insights into the effect of microbial interactions on the growth of A. oryzae and Z. rouxii.
Keywords: A. oryzae; Z. rouxii; microbial interactions; transcriptomics; volatile organic compounds.