Correlation between microbial communities and flavor compounds in Suantangzi dough from Liaoning Province, China

Suantangzi is a fermented corn food product with Manchu characteristics from Liaoning Province, China. To analyze the microbial diversity and flavor compounds in Suantangzi dough, this study utilized high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer regions, high-performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Spearman correlation analysis and random forest model were conducted to investigate the correlation between the dominant genera and flavor compounds. A total of 267 and 123 bacterial and fungal genera, respectively, were identified. Flavor compound analysis identified 7 and 156 organic acids and other flavor compounds, respectively, and partial least squares discriminant analysis was used to screen 22 differential flavor compounds. Additionally, Paucilactobacillus, Pediococcus, and Tausonia genera were speculated to produce different flavors in Suantangzi dough made in different regions. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for microbial community dynamics and the formation of key flavor compounds in Suantangzi dough.