Macrowine 2021
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Influence of nitrogen source on expression of genes involved in aroma production in Saccharomyces uvarum

Influence of nitrogen source on expression of genes involved in aroma production in Saccharomyces uvarum

Abstract

Saccharomyces uvarum has interesting properties that can be exploited for the production of fermented beverages. Particularly, the cryotolerance and capacity to produce high amounts of volatile compounds offers new opportunities for the wine industry. Besides the contribution of the nitrogen source to primary metabolism, some nitrogen compounds are precursors of volatile molecules that produce aroma. The nitrogen compounds assimilated by yeast are classified as rich or poor nitrogen sources depending on how they affect the growth and the nitrogen regulation mechanisms. In S. cerevisiae, the nitrogen metabolism is well understood but less is known about these pathways in S. uvarum. The aim here is to understand the nitrogen metabolism in S. uvarum and the effects of the nitrogen source on the production of aroma volatiles at low temperature; the focus is on temperatures below 20°C since this is relevant for wine production. First, nitrogen preference was established using 10 different compounds as sole nitrogen sources for S. uvarum and S. cerevisiae: important differences were found in the efficiency of asparagine to support growth. The alcoholic fermentations done in synthetic must, showed the same pattern of nitrogen consumption in each species. Afterwards, comparative analysis of gene expression (RNAseq) of S. uvarum MTF3098 was carried out in ammonium, methionine, phenylalanine and asparagine to determine how the nitrogen source affects the expression of key genes involved in nitrogen metabolism and aroma production. The transcriptome data revealed substantial changes in expression patterns of nitrogen metabolism genes. The gene clusters with highest fold change when comparing inorganic nitrogen source (ammonium) and organic source (methionine, phenylalanine, asparagine) in S. uvarum MTF3098 were genes encoding transporters and proteins responsible for aroma synthesis; using amino acids as sole nitrogen source instead of ammonium resulted in an increased expression of this group of genes. This study increases understanding of the importance of the nitrogen source in the aroma production of Saccharomyces yeasts and broads the knowledge on S. uvarum aroma production for applications in wine industry. Ongoing work includes correlating transcriptome and volatile metabolome data to understand links between gene expression and aroma production in S. uvarum.

DOI:

Publication date: September 3, 2021

Issue: Macrowine 2021

Type: Article

Authors

Angela Coral Medina, Carole CAMARASA, John Morrissey, Darren Fenton

1 SPO, UMR, INRA, SupAgro, Universite de Montpellier, France 2 School of Microbiology, University College Cork, Ireland, SPO, UMR, INRA, SupAgro, Universite de Montpellier, France, School of Microbiology, University College Cork, Ireland, School of Biochemestry and Cell Biology, University College Cork, Ireland

Contact the author

Keywords

saccharomyces uvarum, nitrogen source, gene expression, aroma

Citation

Related articles…

Organic recycled mulches in sustainable viticulture: assessment of spontaneous plants communities and weed coverage

In recent years, developing more efficient and sustainable viticulture management has been essential due to the impact of climate change in semiarid regions. For this reason, the use of recycled organic mulching (ROM) in the vineyard has become an interesting strategy to cope with water stress, isolated soil from extreme temperatures and improving soil humidity, control the presence of weeds and therefore reduce the inputs of herbicides and improve soil fertility. This work aimed to analyse the effect of three different organic mulches [straw (S), grape pruning debris (GPD) and spent mushroom compost (SMC)] and two traditional soil management techniques [herbicide (H) and interrow (IN)] on weed coverage and the spontaneous plant communities’ presence. Data sampling was collected throughout the vine vegetative cycle of 2021 in La Rioja, Spain. The different soil management techniques had a clear effect on weed coverage and his development during the vine vegetative cycle. SMC and H were the treatments with the highest and the lowest coverage percentage, respectively. IN had a delayed weed emergence at the beginning of the vine vegetative cycle, but finally it reached maximum values nearby SMC. GPD and S had similar effects on weed emergence, reaching 25-30% of the maximum coverage values. A total of 29 herbaceous species were identified during the vegetative cycle, some of them very isolated and occasional. Principal component analysis (PCAs) showed a good association between spontaneous species and treatments, furthermore, specific species-treatment associations were found. Moreover, three clear groups of herbaceous communities were identified by cluster analysis. This study provides interesting information about the effect of different alternative soil management on herbaceous plant coverage and weed species communities which could contribute to making more sustainable viticulture.

Copper contamination in vineyard soils of Bordeaux: spatial risk assessment for the replanting of vines and crops

Copper (Cu) is widely and historically used in viticulture as a fungicide against mildew. Cu has a strong affinity for soil organic matter and accumulates in topsoil horizons. Thus, Cu may negatively affect soil organisms and plants, consequently reducing soil fertility and productivity. The Bordeaux vineyards have the largest vineyard surfaces (26%) within French controlled appellation and a great proportion of French wine production (around 5 million hl per year). Considering the local context of vineyard surfaces decreasing (vine uprooting) and possible new crop plantation, the issue of Cu potential toxicity rises. Therefore, the aims of this work are firstly to evaluate the Cu contamination in vineyard soils of Bordeaux, secondly to produce a risk assessment map for new vine or crop plantation. We used soil analyses from several local studies to build a database with 4496 soil horizon samples. The database was enhanced by means of pedotransfer functions in order to estimate the bioaccessible (EDTA-extractable) Cu in soils of samples without measurements. From this database, 1797 georeferenced samples with CuEDTA concentrations in the topsoil (0-50 cm depth) were used for kriging interpolation in order to produce the spatial distribution map of CuEDTA in vineyard soils. Then, the spatial distribution of Cu was crossed with vine uprooting surfaces and municipality boundaries. CuEDTAconcentrations ranged from 0.52 to 459 mg/kg and showed clear anomalies. Our results from spatial analysis showed that almost 50% of vineyard soil surfaces have CuEDTA concentrations higher than 30 mg/kg (moderate risk for new plantation) and 20% with concentrations higher than 50 mg/kg (high risk for new plantation). A decision-support map based on municipalities was realised to provide a simple tool to stakeholders concerned by land use management.

A predictive model of spatial Eca variability in the vineyard to support the monitoring of plant status

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

Local adaptation tools to ensure the viticultural sustainability in a changing climate

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

The use of rootstock as a lever in the face of climate change and dieback of vineyard

As viticulture faces challenges such as climate change or vineyard dieback, the choice of the variety and rootstock becomes more and more crucial. To study rootstock levers in the Bordeaux region, a parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon (CS) was planted with four rootstocks in 2014. Twenty repetitions of each of the following four rootstocks were set up: 101-14 MGt, Nemadex AB, 420A MGt and Gravesac. The number of bunches, yields and pruning weights of the vine shoots were measured individually on 240 vines from 2017 to 2021. Since 2020, nitrogen status assessed by assimilable nitrogen level, hydric status assessed by δ13C and berry maturity were measured on 80 samples taken from 20 repetitions of the four rootstocks. A lower yield was measured for CS grafted onto Nemadex AB due to the lower number of bunches and the lower weight of berries. The differences between the other three rootstocks are small, but CS grafted onto 420A MGt was the most productive. The CS grafted onto Nemadex AB had the lowest pruning weight while 101-14 MGt had the highest. In 2020, δ13C showed a more moderate water stress with 101-14 MGt and 420A MGt than with Nemadex AB. Surprisingly, the Gravesac was under more stress than the 101-14 MGt. The nitrogen status in the berries was better for Nemadex AB but this was perhaps due to the significantly lower weight of the berries.Rootstock 101-14 MGt attained the highest accumulation of sugars in the berries while 420A MGt allows to preserve higher acidity. The parcel is still young which may explain some of the results. These measures must therefore be continued over the next several years to fully assess the effects of these rootstocks on the development of the vines and the quality of the production under new climatic conditions.