Unravelling the correlations between predominant microbiota with physicochemical properties and volatile compounds in sauce-braised duck wings during cold storage

The current study was aimed to investigate the correlation between predominant microorganisms and quality development of sauce-braised duck wings (SDWs) during cold storage. Four predominant phyla and 19 dominant genera of bacteria were identified in SDWs. The pH, a∗ value, springiness, cohesiveness and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) were significantly correlated with the microbial community. There were 156 volatile compounds in SDWs, with 1-octen-3-ol, linalool, 1-nonanol, hexanal, nonanal, ethyl hexanoate, eugenol and octanal emerging as the principal key volatile compounds. Notably, Lactobacillus , Alcaligenes and Phyllobacterium demonstrated significant correlations with these key volatile compounds. To further explore the correlations between predominant microbiota and the quality development of SDWs, a strain of L. curvatus was isolated and intentionally re-inoculated into fresh SDWs. The results showed a marked acceleration in the deterioration of SDWs quality, indicating L. curvatus ' role in spoilage during storage. These findings may shed light on the complex interactions between microbial communities with volatile compounds and physicochemical properties. • The microbiota and quality development in SDWs during storage were studied. • Physicochemical attributes showed a significant correlation with microbial species. • Lactobacillus demonstrated significant associations with the key VOCs in SDWs. • L. curvatus was identified as a potential spoilage bacterium.