Oenococcus oeni is a lactic acid bacteria species encountered particularly in wine, where it achieves the malolactic fermentation. Molecular typing methods have previously revealed that the species is made of several genetic groups of strains, some being specific to certain types of wines, ciders or regions. Here, we describe 36 recently released O. oeni genomes and the phylogenomic analysis of these 36 plus 14 previously reported genomes. We also report three genome sequences of the sister species Oenococcus kitaharae that were used for phylogenomic reconstructions. Phylogenomic and population structure analyses performed revealed that the 50 O. oeni genomes delineate two major groups of 12 and 37 strains, respectively, named A and B, plus a putative group C, consisting of a single strain. A study on the orthologs and single nucleotide polymorphism contents of the genetic groups revealed that the domestication of some strains to products such as cider, wine, or champagne, is reflected at the genetic level. While group A strains proved to be predominant in wine and to form subgroups adapted to specific types of wine such as champagne, group B strains were found in wine and cider. The strain from putative group C was isolated from cider and genetically closer to group B strains. The results suggest that ancestral O. oeni strains were adapted to low-ethanol containing environments such as overripe fruits, and that they were domesticated to cider and wine, with group A strains being naturally selected in a process of further domestication to specific wines such as champagne.
The 'microbial terroir' of typical fermented food and beverage production represents a dynamic sector of applied research in food microbiology. In this work, we propose the use of autochthonous bacteria and yeast for wine production from an indigenous grape variety.
Understanding the mechanisms behind the typicity of regional wines inevitably brings attention to microorganisms associated with their production. Oenococcus oeni is the main bacterial species involved in wine and cider making. It develops after the yeast-driven alcoholic fermentation and performs the malolactic fermentation, which improves the taste and aromatic complexity of most wines. Here, we have evaluated the diversity and specificity of O. oeni strains in six regions. A total of 235 wines and ciders were collected during spontaneous malolactic fermentations and used to isolate 3,212 bacterial colonies. They were typed by multilocus variable analysis, which disclosed a total of 514 O. oeni strains. Their phylogenetic relationships were evaluated by a second typing method based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. Taken together, the results indicate that each region holds a high diversity of strains that constitute a unique population. However, strains present in each region belong to diverse phylogenetic groups, and the same groups can be detected in different regions, indicating that strains are not genetically adapted to regions. In contrast, greater strain identity was seen for cider, white wine, or red wine of Burgundy, suggesting that genetic adaptation to these products occurred.IMPORTANCE This study reports the isolation, genotyping, and geographic distribution analysis of the largest collection of O. oeni strains performed to date. It reveals that there is very high diversity of strains in each region, the majority of them being detected in a single region. The study also reports the development of an SNP genotyping method that is useful for analyzing the distribution of O. oeni phylogroups. The results show that strains are not genetically adapted to regions but to specific types of wines. They reveal new phylogroups of strains, particularly two phylogroups associated with white wines and red wines of Burgundy. Taken together, the results shed light on the diversity and specificity of wild strains of O. oeni, which is crucial for understanding their real contribution to the unique properties of wines.
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