Microbial interactions between Lactoplantibacillus plantarum and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa in the fermented fish juice system.

Lactic acid bacteria and yeasts play important roles in fermented fish products. The present study investigated the interaction between Lactoplantibacillus plantarum and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa in a fermented fish juice system. The results demonstrated that the co-culture of L. plantarum L6 and R. mucilaginosa Y9 significantly increased the maximum specific growth and population of L. plantarum L6, and decreased the lag phase. During microbial interactions, R. mucilaginosa Y9 increased the concentration of soluble proteins and provided L. plantarum L6 with more TCA-soluble peptides. Additionally, these two strains showed co-metabolism of amino acids, such as glutamic acid and aspartic acid. Furthermore, the microbial interaction between two strains influenced the generation of volatile compounds. R. mucilaginosain Y9 removed some fishy-odors compounds, including 1-Octen-3-ol, 1-Hexanol and phthalate esters, but increased the accumulation of aldehyde compounds with unpleasant odors. In addition, co-cultivation promoted the generation of special compounds, such as γ-dodecalactone and 2-pentylfuran, which could improve the flavor quality of fermented fish products.