Bacterial microbiota diversity and composition in red and white wines correlate with plant-derived DNA contributions and botrytis infection

Abstract

Wine is a globally produced, marketed and consumed alcoholic beverage, which is valued for its aromatic and qualitative complexity and variation. these properties are partially attributable to the bacterial involvement in the fermentation process. However, the organizational principles and dynamic changes of the bacterial wine microbiota remain poorly understood, especially in the context of red and white wine variations and environmental stress factors. Here, we determined relative and absolute bacterial microbiota compositions from six distinct cultivars during the first week of fermentation by quantitative and qualitative 16S rRNA gene amplification and amplicon sequencing. All wines harboured complex and variable bacterial communities, with Tatumella as the most abundant genus across all batches, but red wines were characterized by higher bacterial diversity and increased relative and absolute abundance of lactic and acetic acid bacteria (LAB/AAB) and bacterial taxa of predicted environmental origin. Microbial diversity was positively correlated with plant-derived DnA concentrations in the wine and Botrytis cinerea infection before harvest. our findings suggest that exogenous factors, such as procedural differences between red and white wine production and environmental stress on grape integrity, can increase bacterial diversity and specific bacterial taxa in wine, with potential consequences for wine quality and aroma. Wine is a popular alcoholic beverage, which is cherished for its versatile aroma and complexity worldwide. Although it is globally produced and marketed, regional wine varieties include prominent, often historic and legally protected, geographic pedigrees and appellations. While specific wine "terroirs" or phenotypic characteristics have been associated with quantifiable molecular markers, such as chemical and metabolite profiles 1,2 and sensory attributes 3-5 , many of the underlying mechanisms for the development of colour, aroma and flavour variations remain poorly understood. The most important intrinsic and extrinsic factors that have been identified include grape-specific differences in secondary microbial metabolite diversity and composition; soil, weather, and climate; geological conditions and environmental stress factors; viticulture and the winemaking process itself 6-8. As wine colour, aroma and flavour are substantially affected by microbial fermentation of the grape must, the taxonomic composition and functional repertoire of the wine microbiota, as well as its dependence on environmental influences, are of great interest 9. Besides eukaryotic yeasts as the drivers of alcoholic fermentation, bacteria are known to contribute to malolactic acid fermentation and other metabolic processes 10,11. The diversity, composition and biogeography of the fungal and bacterial microbiota of wine has been illustrated by

Transcriptomics provides a genetic signature of vineyard site with insight into vintage-independent regional wine characteristics

“…Through this work, we have extended microbiome must sequencing to include the 2019 vintage, with results largely matching findings from previous vintages across these same vineyard sites (50). The observed microbial community composition was consistent with organisms previously shown to be present at the initial stages of the wine making process (4,(15)(16)(17)51).…”

“…( Figure S2 ). Tatumella has previously been identified as a dominant genera in other red wine fermentations where it correlated with total acid (by titration) in grape must (51), however these associations have not been experimentally validated. Three of the most abundant bacterial sequence variants identify to the acetic acid producing genus Gluconobacter ( Figure S2 ).…”

Fungal and bacterial communities of ‘Pinot noir’ must: effects of vintage, growing region, climate, and basic must chemistry

“…Tatumella was the only bacterial genus with a significant relationship with titratable acidity (TA). Recently, in another study examining grape musts from red (‘Regent’ and ‘Schwarzriesling’) and white (‘Merzling’, ‘Seyval’, ‘Helios’, and ‘Bacchus’) wine grape cultivars in Germany, Tatumella was not a dominant member of the grape musts but it had higher abundances after fermentation ( Bubeck et al, 2020 ). Lactobacillus ( Lactobacillaceae ) and Sphingomonas ( Sphingomonodaceae ) exhibited slightly negative relationships with total soluble solids (TSS).…”

Characterization of Microbial Dynamics and Volatile Metabolome Changes During Fermentation of Chambourcin Hybrid Grapes From Two Pennsylvania Regions

“…In both regions, our observation shows that certain fungi and bacteria correlated with specific volatile compounds displaying similar correlation patterns ( Figure 7B ). We hypothesize that this could be caused by exogenous factors such as environmental stress on hybrid grape integrity, procedural differences in winemaking, and hybrid grape ecology (vs. V. vinifera ), especially for red wines which has been shown to be more easily influenced by these factors compared to white wines ( Bubeck et al, 2020 ). Accordingly, it is possible that these exogenous factors other than fermentation drives changes in microbial composition and volatile metabolite production.…”