Insight into the correlation between microbial diversity and flavor profiles of traditional dry-cured duck from the metabolomic perspective

The purpose of this work was to reveal the relationship between the microbial diversity and flavor profiles of traditional dry-cured duck from a metabolomic perspective. Enterococcus, Psychrobacter, Macrococcus, Salinivbrio, and Staphylococcus were the dominant bacterial genera, while Trichophyton, Kurtzmaniella, Blumeria, Cladosporium, Lysurus, Aspergillus, Starmerella and Debaryomyces were the dominant fungal genera of dry-cured duck. The results showed that aldehydes, alcohols, furan, and ketone compounds were the main volatile flavor compounds of dry-cured duck. Moreover, the identified metabolites of dry-cured duck were classified and included amino acids, amines, polypeptides, amino acid derivatives, polyols, fatty acids, organic acids, flavonoids and isoflavones. Heatmap analysis was used to illuminate the relationships between the microbial diversity and flavor profiles, as well as metabolites. These results will provide an effective theoretical reference for the standardization and modernization of dry-cured duck production.