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Diversity and composition of microbiota during fermentation of traditional Nuodeng ham

  • Microbial Ecology and Environmental Microbiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

The microbial community is one of the most important factors in shaping the characteristics of fermented food. Nuodeng ham, traditionally produced and subjected to 1–4 years of fermentation, is a dry fermented food product with cultural and economic significance to locals in southwestern China. In this study, we aimed to characterize the microbiota and physicochemical profiles of Nuodeng ham across different stages of fermentation. Ham samples from each of the four years were analyzed by sequencing bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal internal transcribed spacer sequence, in order to characterize the diversity and composition of their microflora. A total of 2,679,483 bacterial and 2,983,234 fungal sequences of high quality were obtained and assigned to 514 and 57 genera, respectively. Among these microbes, Staphylococcus and Candida were the most abundant genera observed in the ham samples, though samples from different years showed differences in their microbial abundance. Results of physicochemical properties (pH, water, amino acid, NaCl, nitrate and nitrite contents, and the composition of volatile compounds) revealed differences among the ham samples in the composition of volatile compounds, especially in the third year samples, in which no nitrite was detected. These results suggest that the structure and diversity of microbial communities significantly differed across different stages of fermentation. Moreover, the third year hams exhibits a unique and balanced microbial community, which might contribute to the special flavor in the green and safe food products. Thus, our study lends insights into the production of high quality Nuodeng ham.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the project of Yunnan University Service Yunnan Action Plan (N0. KS161020), the Top Young Talents of Ten Thousand Program in Yunnan Province, and the expert base workstation of Yunnan Province.

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yunnan Herbal Laboratory, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650091, P. R. China

    Xiao-mei Zhang, Xi-jun Dang, Yuan-bing Wang, Tao Sun, Yao Wang & Hong Yu

  2. College of Basic Medicine, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, P. R. China

    Xiao-mei Zhang

  3. The Research Center of Cordyceps Development and Utilization of Kunming, Yunnan Herbal Biotech Co. Ltd, Kunming, 650106, P. R. China

    Xiao-mei Zhang, Xi-jun Dang, Yuan-bing Wang, Tao Sun, Yao Wang & Hong Yu

  4. The Nuodeng Ham Plant Based in Dali State, Yunnan, Dali, P. R. China

    Wu-song Yang

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  1. Xiao-mei Zhang
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  2. Xi-jun Dang
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  3. Yuan-bing Wang
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  4. Tao Sun
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  6. Hong Yu
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Correspondence to Hong Yu.

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Zhang, Xm., Dang, Xj., Wang, Yb. et al. Diversity and composition of microbiota during fermentation of traditional Nuodeng ham. J Microbiol. 59, 20–28 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-021-0219-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-021-0219-4

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