Identifying the Main Drivers in Microbial Diversity for Cabernet Sauvignon Cultivars from Europe to South Africa: Evidence for a Cultivar-Specific Microbial Fingerprint.

Microbial diversity in vineyards and in grapes has generated significant scientific interest. From a biotechnological perspective, vineyard and grape biodiversity has been shown to impact soil, vine, and grape health and to determine the fermentation microbiome and the final character of wine. Thus, an understanding of the drivers that are responsible for the differences in vineyard and grape microbiota is required.

Antifungal activity of non-conventional yeasts against and non grape bunch rot fungi.

Grapes harbour a plethora of non-conventional yeast species. Over the past two decades, several of the species have been extensively characterised and their contribution to wine quality is better understood. Beyond fermentation, some of the species have been investigated for their potential as alternative biological tools to reduce grape and wine spoilage.

Towards a Better Understanding of the Potential Benefits of Seaweed Based Biostimulants in L. Cultivars.

Globally, 7.4 million hectares of arable land is planted with grapevine with a farm gate value of $68.3 billion.

Phenotypic characterization of cell-to-cell interactions between two yeast species during alcoholic fermentation.

Microbial multispecies ecosystems are responsible for many biotechnological processes and are particularly important in food production. In wine fermentations, in addition to the natural microbiota, several commercially relevant yeast species may be co-inoculated to achieve specific outcomes. However, such multispecies fermentations remain largely unpredictable because of multilevel interactions between naturally present and/or co-inoculated species.

Inoculation of grape musts with single strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast reduces the diversity of chemical profiles of wines.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that spontaneous alcoholic fermentation of grape juice is becoming a more popular option in global wine production. Wines produced from the same grape juice by inoculation or spontaneous fermentation usually present distinct chemical and sensorial profiles. Inoculation has been associated with more similar end-products, a loss of typicity, and lower aroma complexity, and it has been suggested that this may be linked to suppression of the local or regional wine microbial ecosystems responsible for spontaneous fermentations.

Ecological interactions are a primary driver of population dynamics in wine yeast microbiota during fermentation.

Spontaneous wine fermentation is characterized by yeast population evolution, modulated by complex physical and metabolic interactions amongst various species. The contribution of any given species to the final wine character and aroma will depend on its numerical persistence during the fermentation process. Studies have primarily evaluated the effect of physical and chemical factors such as osmotic pressure, pH, temperature and nutrient availability on mono- or mixed-cultures comprising 2-3 species, but information about how interspecies ecological interactions in the wine fermentation ecosystem contribute to population dynamics remains scant.

Lachancea yeast species: Origin, biochemical characteristics and oenological significance.

The genus Lachancea, first proposed in 2003, currently comprises 12 valid species, all found to have eight chromosomes. Lachancea spp. occupy a myriad of natural and anthropic habitats, and their geographic as well as ecological origin have been identified as key drivers in the genetic variations amongst strains of several of the species.

Investigating the Effect of Selected Non- Species on Wine Ecosystem Function and Major Volatiles.

Natural alcoholic fermentation is initiated by a diverse population of several non- yeast species. However, most of the species progressively die off, leaving only a few strongly fermentative species, mainly . The relative performance of each yeast species is dependent on its fermentation capacity, initial cell density, ecological interactions as well as tolerance to environmental factors.

Investigating the biochemical and fermentation attributes of Lachancea species and strains: Deciphering the potential contribution to wine chemical composition.

Yeasts of various genera are increasingly used alongside Saccharomyces cerevisiae to drive wine fermentations owing to their positive contribution to the organoleptic profile of the resulting wines. One such yeast species is Lachancea thermotolerans. Other species of the genus Lachancea, namely, L.

Evaluating fermentation characteristics of Kazachstania spp. and their potential influence on wine quality.

The current study is the first one to demonstrate the wine fermentation potential of members of several species of the genus Kazachstania including strains derived from grape must. The fermentation characteristics were evaluated in synthetic grape juice medium and in Sauvignon blanc. Our data show that none of the species evaluated could ferment to dryness in monoculture fermentations.

Co-Flocculation of Yeast Species, a New Mechanism to Govern Population Dynamics in Microbial Ecosystems.

Flocculation has primarily been studied as an important technological property of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains in fermentation processes such as brewing and winemaking. These studies have led to the identification of a group of closely related genes, referred to as the FLO gene family, which controls the flocculation phenotype. All naturally occurring S.

The vineyard yeast microbiome, a mixed model microbial map.

Vineyards harbour a wide variety of microorganisms that play a pivotal role in pre- and post-harvest grape quality and will contribute significantly to the final aromatic properties of wine. The aim of the current study was to investigate the spatial distribution of microbial communities within and between individual vineyard management units. For the first time in such a study, we applied the Theory of Sampling (TOS) to sample gapes from adjacent and well established commercial vineyards within the same terroir unit and from several sampling points within each individual vineyard.

Nesterenkonia suensis sp. nov., a haloalkaliphilic actinobacterium isolated from a salt pan.

A Gram-positive, non-motile, non-spore-forming actinobacterium designated strain Sua-BAC020(T) was isolated from brine from Sua salt pan in Botswana. The strain was alkaliphilic and moderately halophilic, displaying optimal growth at 35-37 °C, pH 9 and 2.5 % (w/v) NaCl.

Screening and identification of endomannanase-producing microfungi from hypersaline environments.

A culture-dependent enrichment technique was used to isolate endo-1,4-beta-mannanase-producing fungi from a hypersaline environment. Galactomannan was used as carbon source and resulted in isolation of strains of Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, S. candida, and Verticillium dahliae.