Plant Health and Sound Vibration: Analyzing Implications of the Microbiome in Grape Wine Leaves

Abstract

Understanding the plant microbiome is a key for plant health and controlling pathogens. Recent studies have shown that plants are responsive towards natural and synthetic sound vibration (SV) by perception and signal transduction, which resulted in resistance towards plant pathogens. However, whether or not native plant microbiomes respond to SV and the underlying mechanism thereof remains unknown. Within the present study we compared grapevine-associated microbiota that was perpetually exposed to classical music with a non-exposed control group from the same vineyard in Stellenbosch, South Africa. By analyzing the 16S rRNA gene and ITS fragment amplicon libraries we found differences between the core microbiome of SV-exposed leaves and the control group. For several of these different genera, e.g., Bacillus, Kocuria and Sphingomonas, a host-beneficial or pathogen-antagonistic effect has been well studied. Moreover, abundances of taxa identified as potential producers of volatile organic compounds that contribute to sensory characteristics of wines, e.g., Methylobacterium, Sphingomonas, Bacillus and Sporobolomyces roseus, were either increased or even unique within the core music-exposed phyllosphere population. Results show an as yet unexplored avenue for improved plant health and the terroir of wine, which are important for environmentally friendly horticulture and consumer appreciation. Although our findings explain one detail of the long-term positive experience to improve grapevine’s resilience by this unusual but innovative technique, more mechanistic studies are necessary to understand the whole interplay.

Sound Stimulation Can Affect Saccharomyces cerevisiae Growth and Production of Volatile Metabolites in Liquid Medium

“…Many of these strains enter the wine fermentation from the vineyard rather than via purposeful addition by the winemaker [ 42 ]. Recently, a study showed that sound could alter the native plant microbiome in the vineyard [ 43 ]. This could further drive changes in the fermentation profile by altering the starting composition of ferments.…”

Insights into Grape Ripe Rot: A Focus on the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Species Complex and Its Management Strategies

“…Many reports have identified several groups of beneficial microorganisms in grapevine microbiota. Aureobasidium, specifically the species A. pullulans, has been frequently detected in the grapevine microbiome [112][113][114][115][116][117], and is known to have biocontrol potential against Colletotrichum and other pathogens [115,118]. Other fungi in the grape microbiome with possible antagonistic activities and positive effects on plant growth include Bulleromyces, Dioszegia, Sporobolomyces, Candida [115], Alternaria, Cladosporium, Epicoccum nigrum, Trichoderma caerulescens, T. gamsii, and T. paraviridescens [113].…”

Biological Control of Phytopathogens: Mechanisms and Applications

“…This involves the application of easily degradable carbon sources for the stimulation of soil activities followed by irrigation to field capacity and the maintenance of anaerobic conditions for some period. A quite unexpected way to improve plant health, as presented by Wassermann et al [ 14 ], is based on the perception of natural and/or synthetic sound vibration (SV) by plants. A grapevine leaf-associated microbiota exposed to classical music was compared to non-exposed control leaves.…”