Characterization of the First Virulent Phage Infecting Oenococcus oeni, the Queen of the Cellars.

Cécile Philippe,Fety Jaomanjaka,Claire Le Marrec,Amel Chaïb,Christian Cambillau,Olivier Claisse,Johan Samot,Patrick M Lucas

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.596541

Abstract

There has been little exploration of how phages contribute to the diversity of the bacterial community associated with winemaking and may impact fermentations and product quality. Prophages of Oenococcus oeni, the most common species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) associated with malolactic fermentation of wine, have been described, but no data is available regarding phages of O. oeni with true virulent lifestyles. The current study reports on the incidence and characterization of the first group of virulent oenophages named Vinitor, isolated from the enological environment. Vinitor phages are morphologically very similar to siphoviruses infecting other LAB. Although widespread during winemaking, they are more abundant in musts than temperate oenophages. We obtained the complete genomic sequences of phages Vinitor162 and Vinitor27, isolated from white and red wines, respectively. The assembled genomes shared 97.6% nucleotide identity and belong to the same species. Coupled with phylogenetic analysis, our study revealed that the genomes of Vinitor phages are architecturally mosaics and represent unique combinations of modules amongst LAB infecting-phages. Our data also provide some clues to possible evolutionary connections between Vinitor and (pro)phages associated to epiphytic and insect-related bacteria.

Highlights

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are among the most important groups of microorganisms used in food fermentations (Bintsis, 2018)
We explored the presence of oenophages along 23 red and white wine fermentations in 7 wineries during the 2015 vintage (Supplementary Table 1)
To date, limited studies of O. oeni phages have been undertaken despite the commercial relevance of this bacterial species during winemaking

Summary

Introduction

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are among the most important groups of microorganisms used in food fermentations (Bintsis, 2018). To determine the host range of Vinitor162, 22 representative O. oeni strains were chosen from the CRBO collection, based on their assignment to one of the three main phylogroups (A, B, and C) described in the species (Lorentzen and Lucas, 2019) and their distinct prophage contents (Table 2).

Results

Conclusion