Effects of Lactobacillus curvatus and Leuconostoc mesenteroides on Suan Cai Fermentation in Northeast China.

To investigate the effects of Lactobacillus curvatus and Leuconostoc mesenteroides on suan cai (pickled Chinese cabbage) fermentation, L. curvatus and/or Ln. mesenteroides were inoculated into suan cai. Physicochemical indexes were measured, and the microbial dynamics during the fermentation were analyzed by Illumina MiSeq sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The results showed that inoculation with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) lowered the pH of the fermentation system more rapidly. The decrease in water-soluble carbohydrates in the inoculated treatments occurred more rapidly than in the control. The LAB counts in the control were lower than in other inoculated treatments during the first 12 days of fermentation. According to the Illumina MiSeq sequencing analyses, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia were present in the fermentations, along with other unclassified bacteria. Generally, Firmicutes was predominant during the fermentation in all treatments. At the genus level, 16 genera were detected. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus in all inoculated treatments was higher than in the control. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus in the treatments containing L. curvatus was higher than in the Ln. mesenteroides-only treatment. The relative abundance of Leuconostoc in the Ln. mesenteroides-containing treatments increased continuously throughout the fermentation. Leuconostoc was highest in the Ln. mesenteroides-only treatment. According to the qPCR results, L. curvatus and/or Ln. mesenteroides inoculations could effectively inhabit the fermentation system. L. curvatus dominated the fermentation in the inoculated treatments.