Survival patterns of Dekkera bruxellensis in wines and inhibitory effect of sulphur dioxide

Abstract

The wine spoilage yeast species Dekkera bruxellensis, after inoculation in red wines, displayed three survival patterns characterized by: i) initial lag phase followed by growth and sequential death; ii) initial death phase leading to reduced viable counts followed by growth and sequential death; and iii) death phase leading to complete loss of viability. These survival patterns were observed for the same strain in different dry red wine blends with 12% (v/v) ethanol and pH 3.50, in the absence of free sulphur dioxide. For the same wine blend, these patterns also varied with the tested strain. Under laboratory conditions the addition of 150 mg/l of potassium metabisulphite (PMB) to dry red wine with 12% (v/v) ethanol and pH 3.50 reduced initial cell counts by more than 6 logarithmic cycles, inducing full death within less than 24 h. Winery trials showed that D. bruxellensis blooms were only prevented in the presence of about 40 mg/l of free sulphur dioxide in dry red wine, with 13.8% (v/v) ethanol and pH 3.42, matured in oak barrels. These different amounts of PMB and sulphur dioxide corresponded to about 1 mg/l of molecular sulphur dioxide. Our results therefore demonstrate that the control of populations of D. bruxellensis growing in red wine can only be achieved under the presence of relatively high doses of molecular sulphur dioxide.

Volatile phenols in wine: Control measures of Brettanomyces/Dekkera yeasts

“…Also, the amount of less than 2 g l -1 fermentable sugar in "dry" wines is still not limitation to the production of 4-EP by D. bruxellensis. The production of 4-ethylphenol was detected at sugar concentrations over 0.2 g l -1 and increased under higher sugar concentrations (Barata et al, 2008). In line with this, Sturm et al (2015) showed that 210 mg l -1 of sugars (glucose, fructose and trehalose) was enough to allow B. bruxellensis growth.…”

“…Also, studies have been carried out to understand the mechanisms of 4-vinylphenol and 4-ethylphenol production (Dias et al, 2003;Godoy et al, 2008;Harris et al, 2008;Harris et al, 2009). Barata et al (2008) concluded that the production of 4-ethylphenol in red wines is related to the presence of growing populations of D. bruxellensis, demonstrating that the primary management objective should not be their complete elimination but their maintenance at constant levels. If the numbers of D. bruxellensis increase, removal or inactivation procedures must be performed.…”

“…However, acetic acid production is variable among strains of the genera Dekkera/Brettanomyces cultivated under the same conditions (Freer, 2002). Barata et al (2008) demonstrated that even in the presence of a carbon and energy source, the levels of volatile phenols do not increase in commercial red wines when D. bruxellensis is not growing. This conclusion has direct implications in the management of the phenolic taint, because it shows that the primary objective should be the prevention of actively growing populations and not the reduction of D. bruxellensis to the lowest possible level, as suggested by Renouf et al (2007).…”

The effect of hydroxycinnamic acids on growth and H+-ATPase activity of the wine spoilage yeast, Dekkera bruxellensis

“…The specific growth rate () was estimated from the slope of the growth curve during exponential phase according to the equation xt = x0+μt, where: xt and x0 correspond to the biomass concentration or the optical density (OD) at time t (h) and t = 0, respectively (Barata et al, 2008). The R 2 values of the curves were 0.996 or higher in all cases.…”

Ancient Procedures for the High-Tech World: Health Benefits and Antimicrobial Compounds from the Mediterranean Empires

“…Sulphur can both prevent wine oxidation and growth of undesired microbes. A recently published paper demonstrated that to control the yeast Dekkera bruxellensis, which is responsible for considerable economic losses in the wine industry, relatively high doses of molecular sulphur dioxide is required [149]. The yeast presented three survival patterns and was able to resume growth after an initial decline during which no colonies are detected in agar plates.…”