Abstract
In recent years the interest for natural fermentations has been re-evaluated in terms of increasing the wine terroir and managing more sustainable winemaking practices. Therefore, the level of yeast genetic variability and the abundance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae native populations in vineyard are becoming more and more crucial at both ecological and technological level. Among the factors that can influence the strain diversity, the commercial starter release that accidentally occur in the environment around the winery, has to be considered. In this study we led a wide scale investigation of S. cerevisiae genetic diversity and population structure in the vineyards of three neighboring winemaking regions of Protected Appellation of Origin, in North-East of Italy. Combining mtDNA RFLP and microsatellite markers analyses we evaluated 634 grape samples collected over 3 years. We could detect major differences in the presence of S. cerevisiae yeasts, according to the winemaking region. The population structures revealed specificities of yeast microbiota at vineyard scale, with a relative Appellation of Origin area homogeneity, and transition zones suggesting a geographic differentiation. Surprisingly, we found a widespread industrial yeast dissemination that was very high in the areas where the native yeast abundance was low. Although geographical distance is a key element involved in strain distribution, the high presence of industrial strains in vineyard reduced the differences between populations. This finding indicates that industrial yeast diffusion it is a real emergency and their presence strongly interferes with the natural yeast microbiota.
Highlights
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the microbial agent responsible for the fermentation of wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages, and the most commonly used microbial leavening agent for bread
Different molecular tools have been used for that purpose and the use of microsatellite offered significant advances in understanding S. cerevisiae population dynamics
Grape bunch samples of local grape varieties were collected in the vineyards of three neighboring winemaking regions in the NorthEast of Italy: in Conegliano–Valdobbiadene Prosecco superior (CVPAO) vines are mainly grown on hillside, at low altitude varying between 50 and 500 m above sea level, in LisonPramaggiore (LPAO) and Piave (PAO) vines are cultivated on plain areas
Summary
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the microbial agent responsible for the fermentation of wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages, and the most commonly used microbial leavening agent for bread. The impact of human activity on yeast diversity has been assessed at gene and genome level (Fay and Benavides, 2005; Legras et al, 2007; Liti et al, 2009; Schacherer et al, 2009) evidencing several events of domestication (Fay and Benavides, 2005). Extensive ecological surveys using molecular identification methods have been carried out to explore yeast genetic diversity. Different molecular tools have been used for that purpose and the use of microsatellite offered significant advances in understanding S. cerevisiae population dynamics
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