Biodiversity of Oenological Lactic Acid Bacteria: Species- and Strain-Dependent Plus/Minus Effects on Wine Quality and Safety

Abstract

Winemaking depends on several elaborate biochemical processes that see as protagonist either yeasts or lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of oenological interest. In particular, LAB have a fundamental role in determining the quality chemical and aromatic properties of wine. They are essential not only for malic acid conversion, but also for producing several desired by-products due to their important enzymatic activities that can release volatile aromatic compounds during malolactic fermentation (e.g., esters, carbonyl compounds, thiols, monoterpenes). In addition, LAB in oenology can act as bioprotectors and reduce the content of undesired compounds. On the other hand, LAB can affect wine consumers’ health, as they can produce harmful compounds such as biogenic amines and ethyl carbamate under certain conditions during fermentation. Several of these positive and negative properties are species- and strain-dependent characteristics. This review focuses on these aspects, summarising the current state of knowledge on LAB’s oenological diversity, and highlighting their influence on the final product’s quality and safety. All our reported information is of high interest in searching new candidate strains to design starter cultures, microbial resources for traditional/typical products, and green solutions in winemaking. Due to the continuous interest in LAB as oenological bioresources, we also underline the importance of inoculation timing. The considerable variability among LAB species/strains associated with spontaneous consortia and the continuous advances in the characterisation of new species/strains of interest for applications in the wine sector suggest that the exploitation of biodiversity belonging to this heterogeneous group of bacteria is still rising.

Autochthonous Biological Resources for the Production of Regional Craft Beers: Exploring Possible Contributions of Cereals, Hops, Microbes, and Other Ingredients

“…In regard to fermentation, the exploitation of different microbial resources has assumed relevance in recent years due to the diversity of final products that could be obtained. This is confirmed by the recent expansion of starter cultures, which, nowadays, comprise of not only Saccharomyces strains but also non-Saccharomyces and lactic acid bacteria [145,146], as is the case with commercial starter cultures for oenological production [147][148][149]. In this regard, a sector of craft beer could be a model sector of regionalisation by means of 'cross-over' microbial innovations [150].…”

Native Yeasts and Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Spontaneous Fermentation of Seven Grape Cultivars from the Maule Region (Chile)

“…However, the fact that we were not able to isolate more LAB once the alcoholic fermentation ended, does not indicates that they are not present. According to Capozzi et al, (2021), the concentration of LAB increases 10 to 15 days after the alcoholic fermentation is completed [95]. In our study, we did not consider keeping the fermented grape juice for a MLF fermentation, at which point dormant bacteria might be able to establish.…”

Genomic Analysis of an Excellent Wine-Making Strain Oenococcus oeni SD-2a

“…Metabolic intermediates produced in the arginine deiminase pathway, like citrulline and carbamyl phosphate, should be investigated because these two intermediates may react with ethanol to form ethyl carbamate. It is a multisite carcinogen in experimental animals ( Jiao et al 2014 ; Capozzi et al 2021 ). The formation of ethyl carbamate is affected by many factors in the fermentation process ( Jiao et al 2014 ).…”