Food Chemistry: X 23 (2024) 101543 Available online 8 June 2024 2590-1575/© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- nc-nd/4.0/). Correlation between physicochemical properties, flavor characteristics and microbial community structure in Dushan shrimp sour paste Xiaojuan Song , Dan Liao , Yan Zhou , Qun Huang , Shicheng Lei * , Xiefei Li * School of Public Health, Guizhou Province Engineering Research Center of Health Food Innovative Manufacturing, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550025, China A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Electronic nose HS-SPME-GC–MS Partial least square discriminate analysis (PLS- DA) High-throughput sequencing ABSTRACT Dushan shrimp sour paste (DSSP), a traditional Guizhou condiment, and its unique flavor is determined by the fermentation microbiota. However, the relationship between the microbiota structure and its flavor remains unclear. This study identified 116 volatile flavor compounds using electronic nose and headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC–MS) techniques, of which 19 were considered as key flavor compounds, mainly consisting of 13 esters and 1 alcohol. High-throughput sequencing technique, the bacterial community structure of nine groups of DSSPs was determined. Further analysis revealed Vagococcus, Lactococcus, and Tepidimicrobium as key bacteria involved in flavor formation. This study contributes to our understanding of the relationship between bacterial communities and the flavor formation, and provides guidance for screening starter culture that enhance the flavor of DSSP in industrial production. 1. Introduction Guizhou’s ethnic minority areas have long been renowned for their unique “acid” cuisine, such as Rice Acid Soup (Liu, Qin, Hu, & Miao, 2023), Red Sour Soup (Li et al., 2021), Suanyu (Liu et al., 2021) and Sour Meat (Wang et al., 2022; Wang, Liu, He, & Li, 2022). And the “three sours of Dushan”, namely Dushan shrimp sour paste (DSSP), Dushan pickled vegetable, and stinky sour paste, whose history dates back to the Ming Dynasty, approximately over 400 years ago, and renowned for its distinctive taste (Xu et al., 2020). Generally, the production of DSSP occurs in household or commercial environments, employing traditional spontaneous fermentation techniques. The production of DSSP primarily use freshwater shrimp as the raw material, mixed with Chinese liquor, salt, glutinous rice sweet wine, garlic and red chili powder (Yang, Zhang, Mao, Zhou, & Li, 2018), ferment in jars with a “neck” structure, are filled with water to prevent air entry, ensuring anaerobic conditions inside the jar (Yang et al., 2018; Yang, Zhang, et al., 2018), ultimately forming a viscous semi-solid product with a unique aroma. The widespread use of DSSP in cooking various meat dishes, particularly in dishes like beef, fatty intestines, and pork ribs, which are popular among consumers (Zhang, 2023). Regional tourism’s growth and poverty alleviation ef- forts in the western regions have presented novel development avenues for this local delicacy. Consequently, there’s an increasing demand for large-scale industrial production of DSSP. For the successful commercialization of fermented products, a thorough understanding of key microorganisms and their crucial role in impact flavor is essential (Gao et al., 2023). Consequently, under- standing the relationship between microbiota and flavor in DSSP is paramount to ensuring product quality consistency. Despite the exten- sive research on the fermentation process of shrimp paste (Phewpan et al., 2020; Roh et al., 2009), which has unveiled the primary bacterial genera Tetragenococcus, Lactobacillus, Salimicrobium and Halanaerobium (Che, Yu, Sun, Lu, & Xie, 2021; Li, Lu, He, Sang, & Sun, 2021; Yang, Liu, Sang, & Sun, 2023). Research conducted by Deng et al. (Deng et al., 2022) revealed that the predominant volatile flavor compounds in shrimp paste encompassed long-chain alkanes, esters, and acids. Addi- tional investigations demonstrated that high-salt shrimp paste exhibited an elevated content of acids, aldehydes, and heterocyclic compounds, resulting in a robust roasted flavor, whereas low-salt shrimp paste was abundant in esters, emitting a refreshing aroma profile (Yu, Lu, Zi, Yang, & Xie, 2022). Natural climatic conditions result in alterations of bacte- rial communities and metabolites during fermentation, subsequently leading to inconsistent product quality (Duan et al., 2016), which is influenced by multiple factors, including region, preparation method, and raw material (Sang et al., 2020; Xu et al., 2020; Xu, Kong, et al., 2020). The key difference between shrimp pastes and Dushan shrimp sour pastes were raw materials, production methods, and resulting taste profiles. Shrimp paste consists of small marine shrimp as the main * Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses: leisc11@163.com (S. Lei), xiefeili.edu@gmail.com (X. Li). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Chemistry: X journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/food-chemistry-x https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fochx.2024.101543 Received 16 April 2024; Received in revised form 28 May 2024; Accepted 7 June 2024