Environmental associations with nutrition and flavor quality variation in Morchella from different regions: insights...

Regional differences in the flavor and nutritional quality of Morchella are well recognized, whereas their metabolic characteristics and environmental associations remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated regional variation in Morchella collected from Qilihe District (WL), Gaolan County (GL), Xihe County (XH), and Cheng County (CX) of Gansu Province in China. Associations among metabolic profiles, quality traits, and environmental factors were evaluated using untargeted LC-MS metabolomics, physicochemical characterization, taste analysis, and aroma profiling. PCA and PLS-DA clearly separated samples according to production region, indicating distinct metabolic characteristics. Moreover, differential metabolites were primarily associated with amino acids, nucleotides, organic acids, and lipids. WL-grown Morchella contained higher polysaccharides (20.48%) and phenolics (20.25 mg/g), GL-grown Morchella exhibited higher protein content (39.43 g/100 g) and stronger umami characteristics, XH-grown Morchella accumulated more organic acids (59,770.72 μg/g), whereas CX-grown Morchella contained higher flavonoids (0.38 mg/g), amino acids (30,318.78 mg/kg), and nucleotides (13,561.98 μg/g). Furthermore, aldehydes, ketones, and alcohols were the predominant volatile compounds across all regions. Climatic and soil variables also differed substantially among regions, with higher ammonium nitrogen in GL (626.32 mg/kg) and higher available potassium in XH (241.88 mg/kg). In conclusion, correlation analysis indicated that elevation, annual average temperature, annual precipitation, ammonium nitrogen, and available potassium were significantly associated with variation in metabolite composition and quality traits. These environmental factors may contribute to differences in carbon-nitrogen metabolism and regional quality formation, although causal relationships require further validation through controlled experiments and mechanistic studies.