Characterization of Fungal Microflora and Its Influence on Taste Quality of Zhaguangjiao, a Chinese Traditional Fermented Chili Product

The fungal community structure in Zhaguangjiao was analyzed by MiSeq high throughput sequencing and the relative intensity of various taste attributes of Zhaguangjiao samples was determined using an electronic tongue. Furthermore,the correlation between the fungal diversity and taste quality of was evaluated. The results showed that Ascomycota was the most dominant fungal phyla with a relative abundance of 99.97%. Candida, Eurotium, Pichia, Fusarium, Galactomyces,Cladosporium, Guehomyces, and Debaryomyces each accounted for more than 1.0% of total sequences at the genus level,with a relative abundance of 56.63%, 10.12%, 11.19%, 2.67%, 2.48%, 2.21%, 1.50% and 1.01%, respectively. The results of Pearson correlation analysis indicated that there were positive correlations among the relative abundance of the dominant fungal genera and the defective indexes of taste quality. Thus, we can consider that the fungal microbiota played inactive roles in the taste quality formation of Zhaguangjiao. © 2018, China Food Publishing Company. All right reserved.