Selection criteria and tools for malolactic starters development: an update

Abstract

The use of malolactic starter cultures to improve the fermentation process and enhance wine quality and safety is becoming a common winemaking practice, increasingly preferred to spontaneous fermentation. Given its great oenological properties, Oenococcus oeni is the species most present in commercial brands of wine lactic acid bacteria (LAB) starters. Stress resistance, technological performances and safety are the key selection criteria to take into account when designing effective malolactic starters. Nowadays, new LAB strains are selected by exploiting advanced technological applications rather than the traditional screening methods based on a trial and error approach. In particular, the progress made in the fields of genetics and molecular biology, as well as in the whole genome sequencing projects, offers new tools to better characterize candidate starter strains. This review aims at providing an updated picture of the technological approaches that should be used to select LAB strains suitable for winemaking. In the near future, the full integration of phenotypic and genetic data will make it possible to rationally develop malolactic cultures that are specific for different types of wine.

Lactococci of Local Origin as Potential Starter Cultures for Traditional Montenegrin Cheeses

“…The fi rst stage in carefully selecting starters is to establish the precise identity of an isolate at genus and species level (9). Possible duplicates can be excluded by an analysis at strain level (10).…”

“…Possible duplicates can be excluded by an analysis at strain level (10). Next to the correct identifi cation, technological performance and stress resistance have to be characterised when screening for eff ective starters (9). The most important role of L. lactis strains in cheese production is their ability to rapidly produce lactic acid, which promotes the coagulation and formation of curd.…”

The application of malolactic fermentation process to create good-quality grape wine produced in cool-climate countries: a review

“…At present, knowledge on the physiology of O. oeni under stress conditions is used to create tools, which is based on the molecular and physiological aspects that facilitate more precise characteristics of strains. Studies are being conducted on the activity of intracellular enzymes responsible for the metabolism of malic acid and production of ATPase, i.e., the two factors having the decisive effect on the acidophilic character of O. oeni bacteria [6,9,10,12,19,43,46,47].…”

“…Currently conducted enological research focuses on the explanation of interactions between yeasts Saccharomyces and bacteria Oenococcus, particularly the essence of competition for nutrients as well as the type and character of the synthesized metabolites with potential stimulatory and/ or inhibitory properties [21,43,[52][53][54].…”

Effect of Oenococcus Oeni on Parameters of Oenological Polish Wines

“…Z drugiej strony została zmniejszona zawartość związków nadających winu niepożądane zapachy. Prawidłowo przeprowadzony proces odkwaszania umożliwia korektę bukietu wina [34]. Fenotypowa zmienność szczepów O. oeni ma zasadnicze znaczenie dla tworzenia różnych rodzajów wina (zróżnicowanie w tworzeniu wtórnych metabolitów).…”