Microbial succession drives flavor development in low-salt fermented bamboo shoots: A correlation analysis of physicochemical dynamics and metabolic pathways

This study investigates the critical role of microbial succession in flavor formation during low-salt (1 % NaCl) fermentation of Jipo bamboo shoots (JPBS). Results demonstrated that texture was significantly correlated with pH and organic acids (<i>p</i> < 0.01), with lactic and quinic acids dominant in the final fermentation stage. Based on a flavor wheel constructed from 27 key flavor compounds (OAV > 1), 2,4-dimethylbenzaldehyde was identified as the main contributor to the aroma. High-throughput sequencing revealed a microbial succession from <i>Bacillus</i> to <i>Lactobacillus</i> (10.54 %) and <i>unclassified Enterobacteriaceae</i> (59.81 %), whose abundance correlated with acid and flavor accumulation (<i>r</i> = 0.76-0.95). <i>Lactococcus</i> abundance positively correlated with 2,4-dimethylbenzaldehyde. KEGG predictions highlighted carbohydrate metabolism (e.g., glycolysis) and amino acid metabolism (e.g., branched-chain amino acid degradation) as key pathways for flavor compound synthesis. This study lays the foundation for optimizing low-salt bamboo shoot fermentation technology.