Analysis of the Influence of Microbial Community Structure on Flavor Composition of Jiang-Flavor Liquor in Different Batches of Pre-Pit Fermented Grains

Abstract

To explore the effects of microbial community changes on the key flavor substances in base Baijiu, this study analyzed the microbiome of the pre-pit fermentation grains using high-throughput sequencing technology and determined the flavor substances of the base Baijiu by GC-FID. The results showed the microbial community changed dynamically between the different rounds, as well as bacteria and fungi displayed different succession patterns. Next, the variations of skeletal flavor substances in the base Baijiu were analyzed by multiomics, and it was found that alcohols, acids, and esters were the most abundant, accounting for 88.16–98.87% of the total flavor substances, and decreased with the increase of the rounds. By calculating the Spearman coefficient, it was found that microorganisms such as Acinetobacter, Oceanobacillus, Saccharomyces, and Byssochlamys were significantly correlated with the n-Propano and 2,3-Butanediol and other components in the base Baijiu. Finally, 15 flavor substances such as Acetaldehyde, Propionaldehyde, and Isobutyraldehyde were identified as key substances by OAV analysis. This study is the first to reveal the potential association between the microbial community of pre-pit fermentation grains and flavor of base Baijiu and has the benefit of improving the quality of base Baijiu.

Keywords

• Jiang-flavor Baijiu
• pit fermentation
• high-throughput sequencing