Abstract: In order to fully reveal the dynamic change of fungal community structure in Xiangyang pickled kohlrabi during its fermentation process, Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology was used to investigate the fungal community diversity in pickle juice samples at different fermentation times during its industrial production. A total of 303 species in 190 genera in 106 families in 56 orders in 19 classes in 4 phyla with 516 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified in 24 samples. Collectively, cluster analysis and principal component analysis showed that the 24 samples could be divided into three clusters based on the structural characteristics of fungal community, i.e. early, middle and late stages of fermentation. The total number of OTUs common to the three fermentation stages was 124. Except for unclassified fungi, the dominant phylum in all samples was Ascomycota, with a relative abundance of 74.2% to 99.8%, followed by Basidiomycota. At the level of order, Xylariales was the dominant fungus at the early fermentation stage, with a relative abundance of 45.7% to 60.2%. Subsequently, Saccharomycetales became absolutely dominant instead of Xylariales, with a relative abundance of 63.6% to 99.5%. At the level of genus, Monographella was the dominant fungus at the early fermentation stage while Debaryomyces and Zygosaccharomyces were the dominant fungi at the middle and late stages.

Key words: kohlrabi, fermentation, fungal diversity, high-throughput sequencing