 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

Inhibition of Oenococcus oeni during alcoholic fermentation by a selected Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain

The use of selected cultures of the species Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in Oenology has grown in prominence in recent years. While initial applications of this species centred very much around malolactic fermentation (MLF), there is strong evidence to show that certain strains can be harnessed for their bio-protective effects. Unwanted spontaneous MLF during alcoholic fermentation (AF), driven by rogue Oenococcus oeni, is a winemaking deviation that is very difficult to manage when it occurs. This work set out to determine the efficacy of one particular strain of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum(Viniﬂora® NoVA™ Protect), against this problem in Cabernet Sauvignon must. The work was carried out at commercial scale and in a winery environment and compared the bio-protective culture with the more traditional approach of reducing must pH by the addition of tartaric acid. The combination of both was also investigated. The concentration of both Oenococcus oeni and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was determined using qPCR. The adventitious Oenococcus oeni showed the most growth during AF in the control wine, whereas in the wines treated with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum a bacteriostatic effect against this species was observed. This effect was comparable to the wines treated with tartaric acid. This has particular commercial relevance for controlling the flora in musts with high pH, or when the addition of tartaric acid is either not permitted or is prohibitive for other reasons.

The impact of sustainable management regimes on amino acid profiles in grape juice, grape skin flavonoids, and hydroxycinnamic acids

One of the biggest challenges of agriculture today is maintaining food safety and food quality while providing ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation, pest and disease control, ensuring water quality and supply, and climate regulation. Organic farming was shown to promote biodiversity and carbon sequestration, and is therefore seen as one possibility of environmentally friendly production. Consumers expect organically grown crops to be free from chemical pesticides and mineral fertilizers and often presume that the quality of organically grown crops is different or higher compared to conventionally grown crops. Integrated, organic, and biodynamic viticulture were compared in a replicated field trial in Geisenheim, Germany (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Riesling). Amino acid profiles in juice, grape skin flavonoids, and hydroxycinnamic acids were monitored over three consecutive seasons beginning 7 years after conversion to organic and biodynamic viticulture, respectively. In addition, parameters such as soil nutrient status, yield, vigor, canopy temperature, and water stress were monitored to draw conclusions on reasons for the observed changes. Results revealed that the different sustainable management regimes highly differed in their amino acid profiles in juice and also in their skin flavonol content, whereas differences in the flavanol and hydroxycinnamic acid content were less pronounced. It is very likely that differences in nutrient status and yield determined amino acid profiles in juice, although all three systems showed similar amounts of mineralized nitrogen in the soil. Canopy structure and temperature in the bunch zone did not differ among treatments and therefore cannot account for the observed differences in favonols. A different light exposure of the bunches in the respective systems due to differences in vigor together with differences in berry size and a different water status of the vines might rather be responsible for the increase in flavonol content under organic and biodynamic viticulture.

Modulation of berry composition by different vineyard management practices

High concentration of sugars in grapes and alcohol in wines is one of the consequences of climate change on viticulture production in several wine-growing regions. In order to investigate the possibilities of adaptation of vineyard management practices aimed to reduce the accumulation of sugar during the maturation phase without reducing the accumulation of anthocyanins in grapes, a study with severe shoot trimming, shoot thinning, cluster thinning and date of harvest was conducted on Merlot variety in Istria region (Croatia), under the Mediterranean climate. Four factors which may affect grape maturation and its composition at harvest were investigated in a two-years experiment; severe shoot trimming applied at veraison when >80% of berries changed colour (in comparison to untreated control), shoot thinning (0 and 30%), cluster thinning (0 and 30%), and the date of harvest (early and standard harvest dates). Shoot thinning had no significant impact on berry composition, despite the obtained reduction in yield per vine. Lower Brix in grapes were obtained with earlier harvest date and if no cluster thinning was applied, although at the same time a reduction in the concentration of anthocyanins in berries was observed in these treatments. On the other hand, if severe shoot trimming was applied when >80% of berries changed colour, a reduction of Brix was obtained without a negative impact on berry anthocyanins concentration. We conclude that in cases when undesirably high sugar concentrations at harvest are expected, severe shoot trimming at 80% veraison may effectively be used in order to obtain moderate sugar concentration in berries together with the adequate phenolic composition.

Influence of weather and climatic conditions on the viticultural production in Croatia

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Use of multispectral satellite for monitoring vine water status in mediterranean areas

The development of new generations of multispectral satellites such as Sentinel-2 opens possibilities as to vine water status assessment (Cohen et al., 2019). Based on a three years field campaign, a model of Stem Water Potential (SWP) estimation on vine using four satellite bands in Red, Red-Edge, NIR and SWIR domains was developed (Laroche-Pinel et al., 2021). The model relies on SWP field measures done using a pressure chamber (Scholander et al., 1965), which is a common, robust and precise method to assess vine water status (Acevedo-Opazo et al., 2008). The model was mainly developed from from SWP measures on Syrah N (Laroche Pinel E., 2021).

A large scale monitoring was organized in different vineyards in the Mediterranean region in 2021. 10 varieties amongst the most represented in this area were monitored (Cabernet sauvignon N, Chardonnay B, Cinsault N, Grenache N, Merlot N, Mourvèdre N, Sauvignon B, Syrah N, Vermentino B, Viognier B). The model was used to produce water status maps from Sentinel-2 images, starting from the beginning of June (fruit set) up to September (harvest). The average estimated SWP for each vine was compared to actual field SWP measures done by wine growers or technicians during usual monitoring of irrigation programs. The correlations between mean estimated SWP and mean measured SWP were at the same level than expected by the model. (Laroche Pinel, 2021) The general SWP kinetics were comparable. The estimated SWP would have led to same irrigation decisions concerning the date of first irrigation in comparison with measured SWP.

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