Regional differentiation of microbial communities and metabolites in Yunnan dry-cured beef: insights from high-throughput sequencing and untargeted metabolomics.

To reveal the effects of regional processing on quality, microbial communities and metabolites of traditional Yunnan dry-cured beef, samples from Xundian (XD), Yuxi (YX) and Honghe (HH) were analyzed. High-throughput sequencing and UHPLC-Q-Exactive HF/MS untargeted metabolomics were applied. Sensory scores and physicochemical Properties differed significantly (p < 0.05). Bacillota and Staphylococcus dominated bacterial communities. The observed differences in microbial communities and metabolites among regions are shaped by the combined effects of geographical environment and processing conditions. Ascomycota was the main fungal phylum. Debaryomyces dominated XD and HH samples. YX samples had a unique fungal profile dominated by Rhodotorula and Cladosporium. A total of 1320 metabolites were identified. 196 differential metabolites were screened. Key pathways included glycerophospholipid metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism and arachidonic acid metabolism. Correlation analysis indicated that Staphylococcus and Lactococcus were positively associated with amino acid derivatives, while Latilactobacillus and Debaryomyces correlated with organic acids and glycerophospholipids. These findings revealed the potential microbial-metabolic association underlying regional quality differences. They provide support for quality control and traceability of dry-cured beef.