Microbial Community Structure of Huaiji Huangcai and Its Correlations with Physicochemical Properties and Quality
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Abstract:
Huaiji Huangcai is a fermented radish greens product unique to Huaiji County in Zhaoqing City of Guangdong Province, China. It is produced through a meticulous, time-consuming, traditional fermentation process. Herein, we aimed to improve the traditional processing method to enhance Huaiji Huangcai quality and to elucidate the microbial community structure of naturally fermented Huangcai for the exploitation of its microbial resources. Four naturally fermented Huangcai products representative of the region were selected for microbial diversity analysis using amplicon sequencing. The core microorganisms affecting the quality of Huangcai were identified through redundancy and Spearman’s correlation analysis, with the aim of providing theoretical guidance for future industrialization of Huangcai production. The results indicate that naturally fermented Huangcai had high microbial diversity, with Lactobacillus, Weissella, Pediococcus, Methylobacterium, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, and Allorthizobium-Neorhizobium-Pararhizobium-Rhizobiu being the main bacterial genera. Bacterial species with the highest abundances included Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum, Lactobacillus alimentarius, Weissella cibaria, Pediococcus acidilactici, Agrobacterium larrymoorei, Lactobacillus ginsenosidimutans, and Pseudomonas azotoformans. Salinity, pH, water activity, and total acidity were the main factors affecting the bacterial community composition of Huangcai. Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, and Weissella were essential bacterial genera that enhanced Huangcai quality; at the species level, Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum, Pediococcus acidilactici, and Weissella cibaria contributed to the improvement of sour taste and color as well as maintaining Huangcai texture. Our study enabled the characterization of the microbial community structure of naturally fermented Huangcai and elucidated the relationships between the dominant bacteria and Huangcai quality, which is beneficial to quality control during Huangcai fermentation.
