Characteristics of changes in volatile organic compounds and microbial communities during the storage of pickles

[Display omitted] •Totally 50 volatile organic compounds were solely identified in three kinds of pickles by HS-GC-IMS.•The flavor and bacteria of the three kinds of pickles changed during storage.•Most alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and esters decreased while acids increased during storage.•Bacterial diversity decreased significantly during storage.•Bacillariophyta and Streptophyta were correlated to the flavor during storage. The variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and microbial communities of three pickles during storage at 4°C for one week were analyzed by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), high-throughput sequencing, and Spearman correlation analysis. A total of 50 VOCs were identified from three pickles. During storage, most alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and esters decreased, while acids increased, and sulfides, alkenes, and phenols were relatively equal. Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, and Proteobacteria were the predominant bacterial phyla, and Weissella, Streptophyta, Leuconostoc, Bacillariophyta, and Lactobacillus were the predominant bacterial genera in three pickles. The bacterial diversity level significantly decreased during storage (P