Unraveling the correlations between microbial communities and metabolic profiles of strong-flavor Jinhui Daqu with different storage periods

Daqu is a saccharification agent required for fermenting Baijiu, a popular Chinese liquor. Our objective was to investigate the relationships between physicochemical indices, microbial community diversity, and metabolite profiles of strong-flavor Jinhui Daqu during different storage periods. During different storage periods of Jinhui Daqu, we combined Illumina MiSeq sequencing and non-target sequencing techniques to analyze dynamic changes of the microbial community and metabolite composition, established a symbiotic network and explored the correlation between dominant microorganisms and differential metabolites in Daqu. Fungal community diversity in 8d_Daqu was higher than that in 45d_Daqu and 90d_Daqu, whereas bacterial community diversity was higher in 90d_Daqu. Twelve bacterial and four fungal genera were dominant during storage of Daqu. Bacillus, Leuconostoc, Kroppenstedtia, Lactococcus, Thermomyces and Wickerhamomyces decreased as the storage period increased. Differences of microbiota structure led to various metabolic pathways, and 993 differential metabolites were found in all Daqu samples. Differential microorganisms were significantly related to key metabolites. Major metabolic pathways involved in the formation of amino acids and lipids, such as L-arogenate and hydroxyproline, were identified. Interactions between moisture, acidity, and microbes may drive the succession of the microbial community, which further affects the formation of metabolites.