Abstract: In order to understand the bacterial diversity and microbial safety of air-dried meat products, we sequenced the V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene from air-dried meat products by using Illumina MiSeq sequencing and evaluated the variability of the bacterial community structure and diversity. A total of 466 975 valid sequences and 975 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained for 14 samples. Air-dried naturally fermented meat products showed high microbial diversity. The analysis of bacterial community composition indicated that Firmicutes (39%), Proteobacteria (40%) and Bacteroidetes (14%) were the dominant bacteria in naturally fermented meat products, while Firmicutes (92%) were the dominant bacteria in samples fermented under controlled conditions. A total of 241 and 102 bacterial genera were identified in naturally and artificially fermented meat products, respectively, and the bacterial diversity was significantly different at the genera level (P < 0.05). The results from this research provide a theoretical basis for ensuring the quality and safety and optimizing the manufacturing process of air-dried meat products.

Key words: fermented meat products, autochthonous bacterial community structure, microbial safety assessment, highthroughput sequencing