ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
This article is part of the Research TopicMicrobial Dynamics in Vegetable FermentationView all articles
Microbial Communities and Metabolome Profiles of Fermented Chinese Mustard Greens from Diverse Regions in Guangdong Province, China
Provisionally accepted
gaowa Saren1
Jiayu Wang1Yongxi Kuang1Yun Ding1Hao Xie1Nan Diao1Siwei Shang1MAN HEI KAM2Wenzhong Hu1*Ke Feng2*- 1Zhuhai College of Science and Techology, Zhuhai, China
- 2Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao, SAR China
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Fermented Chinese mustard greens (FCMG) is a well-known traditional fermented vegetable in Guangdong province, China. It has received considerable attention for the beneficial microorganisms and characteristic metabolite of FCMG. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between microbial communities and metabolome profiles of traditional FCMG from different regions. In this study, the microbial communities and metabolome profiles of traditional FCMG were evaluated by High-throughput sequencing (HTS) and metabolomics technology from households in Meizhou (MZ), Shaoguan (SG), and Zhongshan (ZS) in Guangdong province. HTS analysis revealed Lactobacillus is the predominant microorganism in samples from three regions. The Lactobacillus abundance in ZS was significantly higher than that in MZ and SG. The relative abundance of Bacillus was found only in the MZ, whereas Leuconostoc and Pediococcus were only found in SG. The specific metabolite in sample identified was highest in MZ, followed by ZS and SG. In the overall analysis, the positive relationship was found between Lactobacillaceae and the accumulation of various organic acids (Cis-Sinapic acid, 5-Hydroxyferulic acid, 3-Feruloylquinic acid and 3-O-Caffeoyl-1-O-methylquinic acid). The positive relationship was also found between Halomonas, Paenibacillus and volatile compounds (isothiocyanates, esters, terpenes, etc.). This investigation reveals the correlation of microbial communities and metabolite of FCMG from different regions. The finds provide scientific basis for screening benefit microbial which to develop high-quality flavor FCMG.
Keywords: Chinese mustard greens, fermented vegetables, metabolite, Metabolome, microbial communities
Received: 10 Dec 2025; Accepted: 13 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Saren, Wang, Kuang, Ding, Xie, Diao, Shang, KAM, Hu and Feng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Wenzhong Hu
Ke Feng
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