Diversity of adapted tobacco microbial community and its application in improving tobacco quality
Jing Mai, Ying Ning, Zhonglong Lin, Hong Zhang, Jianfeng Sun, Yi Chen, Yonglei Jiang, Yunfei Ma, Mingjun Zhu, Binbin Hu
Abstract
Many bacteria such as Bacillus , Pseudomonas , and Lactobacillus are widely present in flue-cured tobacco leaves during the aging process, indicating they play important roles in improving tobacco quality. In this study, we aimed to screen adaptive microbial communities that could grow and reproduce stably in tobacco at different temperatures, which could be used to ferment tobacco to improve the quality of tobacco. Meanwhile, based on high-throughput sequencing and PICRUSt prediction technology, the dynamic changes of microbial communities and their metabolic functions were revealed. Furthermore, the application of these microbial communities in improving tobacco quality was evaluated by measuring the main chemical components and aroma components in fermented tobacco, combined with sensory evaluation. The results of microbial community structure and PICRUSt analysis showed that the microbial communities could degrade chemical components in tobacco, such as nicotine, starch, and protein, leading to an increase in sugar content in tobacco, which was consistent with the changes in chemical components in tobacco after fermentation. Besides, the analysis of sensory quality and aroma components suggested that fermentation at 37 ℃ greatly improved the quality of tobacco. This study provides a novel method for application in improving tobacco quality.