Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Sauce-flavor Daqu is the solid-state fermentation starter for sauce-flavor Baijiu. Its microbial community influences flavor formation, yet links between community change, process conditions, and flavor development during high-temperature fermentation remain unclear. We investigated Daqu fermentation by integrating high-throughput sequencing, monitoring of physicochemical parameters, and analysis of volatile compounds. Fermentation temperature showed three phases: rapid rise, fluctuating plateau, and gradual decline. High temperatures were associated with increased thermophilic microbes such as Bacillus and Thermoascus and with higher levels of reducing sugars and amino acid nitrogen; amylase, protease, and other hydrolase activities were detected. Bacterial composition varied more than fungal composition; Firmicutes and Ascomycota were the dominant phyla, and Bacillus and Thermoascus were abundant genera. Canonical correspondence analysis associated reducing sugars, acidity, and moisture with early community shifts, and amino acid nitrogen with later shifts; reducing sugars and moisture showed the strongest associations. Filamentous fungi and Bacillus correlated with pyrazine-type compounds. These results link microbial composition, process parameters, and flavor profiles, and may inform the standardization and mechanization of Daqu production.
Source: Biology
Authors: Youwei Chen, Limei Zou, Luyao Wang, Weiwei Dong, Yanli Feng, Xiang Yu, Jun Liu, Yu Zhang, Yuanliang Hu, Shenxi Chen
Institutions: Hubei Normal University, Hubei Polytechnic University
Language: English
Subfield: Food Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,258
OpenAlex ID: W4414529447