Dynamic changes in umami and aroma compounds and transcriptome analysis of Pleurotus pulmonarius at different growth...

Pleurotus pulmonarius is renowned for distinctive umami and aroma. However, accumulation patterns and regulatory mechanisms of these compounds during fruiting body development remain poorly understood. HPLC results showed umami 5'-nucleotides levels exhibited decreasing trends accompanying maturation. The contents of five flavor amino acids (AAs) and four sweet-tasting AAs at the immature stage peaked at 1.53 and 0.69 g/100 g, significantly surpassing that at other stage (P < 0.05). HS-SPME-GC-MS analysis revealed 1-octen-3-ol exhibited the highest relative odor activity value at primordial stage, while 3-octanone dominated in later stages. At over-mature stage, DEGs were predominantly enriched in the organonitrogen compound metabolic process, whereas at other stages they chiefly associated with small-molecule metabolic processes. Some umami AAs levels were correlated with aspB and OTC expression. This study explained how umami and aroma compounds built up and were controlled during the growth of P. Pulmonarius fruiting bodies, providing novel insights for optimizing harvest timing.