Characterization of Functional Microorganisms in Representative Traditional Fermented Dongcai from Different Regions of China

Yanbing Jiang; Hao Fu; Meng Li; Changtao Wang

doi:10.3390/foods12091753

Characterization of Functional Microorganisms in Representative Traditional Fermented Dongcai from Different Regions of China

Foods. 2023 Apr 23;12(9):1753. doi: 10.3390/foods12091753.

Authors

Yanbing Jiang^{1

2}, Hao Fu^{1

2}, Meng Li^{1

2}, Changtao Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Research and Development, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100040, China.
² Institute of Cosmetic Regulatory Science, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100040, China.

Abstract

Dongcai is loved for its delicious flavor and nutritional value. The microorganisms in Dongcai play a vital role in their flavor, quality, and safety, and the microbial communities of Dongcai vary greatly from region to region. However, it remains unknown what the predominant microorganisms are in different traditional Dongcai and how they affect its flavor. The objective of this study is to explore the microbial diversity of traditional fermented Dongcai in three representative Chinese regions (Tianjin, Sichuan, and Guangzhou) and further assess their microbial functions. The microbial diversity of fermented Dongcai in Guangdong has the lowest diversity compared to fermented Dongcai in Sichuan, which has the highest. The distribution of the main genera of fermented Dongcai varies from region to region, but Carnimonas, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Burkholderia-Caballeronia-Paraburkholderia, and Rhodococcus are the dominant genera in common. In addition, halophilic bacteria (HAB, i.e., Halomonas Bacillus, Virgibacillus, etc.) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB, i.e., Weissella and Lactobacillus) are also highly abundant. Of these, Burkholderia-Caballeronia-Paraburkholderia, Rhodococcus, Sphingomonas, Ralstonia, and Chromohalobacter are dominant in the Sichuan samples. In the Tianjin samples, Lactobacillus, Weissella, Virgibacillus, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas are the most abundant. Predictions of microbial metabolic function reveal that carbohydrates, amino acids, polyketides, lipids, and other secondary metabolites are abundantly available for biosynthesis. In addition, the different flavors of the three types of Dongcai may be due to the fact that the abundance of HAB and LAB shows a significant positive correlation with the amounts of important metabolites (e.g., salt, acid, amino nitrogen, and sugar). These results contribute to our understanding of the link between the distinctive flavors of different types of Dongcai and the microorganisms they contain and will also provide a reference for the relationship between microbial communities and flavor substances in semi-fermented pickles.

Keywords: Dongcai; different regions of China; high-throughput sequencing (HTS); microbial diversity.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.