Microbial Communities and Physiochemical Properties of Four Distinctive Traditionally Fermented Vegetables from North China and Their Influence on Quality and Safety

Abstract

The bacterial communities and physicochemical characteristics of four types of extremely distinctive traditionally fermented vegetables (pickled pepper (PP), pickled Brassica napobrassica (PBN), salted flowers of wild chives (SFWC), and pickled cucumber (PC)) were identified and compared from north China. <i>Lactobacillus</i> was the main bacterial genus in PP and PBN samples, with <i>Oceanobacillus</i> only being observed in PBN. The predominant genus in SFWC was <i>Weissella</i>, while in PC they were were <i>Carnimonas</i> and <i>Salinivibrio</i>. At the species level, <i>Companilactobacillus ginsenosidimutans, Fructilactobacillus fructivorans</i>, and <i>Arcobacter marinus</i> were abundant in PP and PBN. <i>Levilactobacillus brevis and Companilactobacillus alimentarius</i> were enriched in PP, and <i>L. acetotolerans</i>, <i>Ligilactobacillus acidipiscis</i> and <i>Pediococcus parvulus</i> were observed in PBN. <i>Weissella cibaria</i> and <i>Kosakonia cowanii</i> were abundant in SFWC. Moreover, tartaric acid was the most physicochemical factor influencing microbial composition, followed by malic acid, titratable acidity (TA), and lactic acid. Furthermore, functional analysis demonstrated that the most genes of the bacterial profiles correlated with carbohydrate metabolism. However, some foodborne pathogens were existed, such as <i>Staphylococcus</i> and <i>Arcobacter marinus</i>. The results of this study provide detailed insight into the relationship between the bacterial communities and physicochemical indices of fermented vegetables, and may improve the quality and safety of traditional Chinese fermented vegetables.