Abstract
The use of autochthonous strains of Oenococcus oeni for inducing malolactic fermentation (MLF) in wines is increasing because they are well adapted to the conditions of a specific area. The main aim of this work was to select O. oeni strains from Priorat (Catalonia, Spain) wines that would be able to carry out the MLF while maintaining the characteristics of the wine. Forty-five autochthonous strains were selected based on their degradation of L-malic acid, resistance to low pH and high ethanol, and the absence of biogenic amine genes. The three strains with the best characteristics were inoculated and MLF was carried out successfully with the final wines showing good characteristics. One of the inoculated O. oeni strains would be a good candidate to study as possible starter culture. It shows that autochthonous O. oeni strains, once selected, have the potential to be used as an inoculum for wines.
Highlights
Oenococcus oeni is the major species among lactic acid bacteria (LAB) involved in the malolactic fermentation (MLF) of wine (Wibowo et al, 1985; Henick-Kling, 1993)
Three O. oeni strains were selected from 45 autochthonous LAB strains from Priorat wines based on their efficiency in degrading L-malic acid and most especially their resistance to high ethanol and low pH
The absence of biogenic amine genes in these strains was verified, and the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis placed them in phylogroup A, the same group in which other good wine-adapted strains have been found
Summary
Oenococcus oeni is the major species among lactic acid bacteria (LAB) involved in the malolactic fermentation (MLF) of wine (Wibowo et al, 1985; Henick-Kling, 1993). The application of an autochthonous starter culture, well adapted to the conditions of a specific wine-producing area, has already been suggested (Nielsen et al, 1996; Ruiz et al, 2010). For this reason, several studies have been performed on the characterization of O. oeni biodiversity with the aim of selecting putative autochthonous starter cultures (Capozzi et al, 2010; Capozzi et al, 2014; González-Arenzana et al, 2014; Lamontanara et al, 2014)
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