Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol.111 No.1
“Microbial Biogeography of Wine Grapes is Conditioned by Cultivar, Vintage, and Climate”
by Nicholas A. Bokulich, John H. Thorngate, Paul M. Richardson, & David A. Mills
January 7, 2014
Alternate Link: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1317377110
"…Conclusions:
"These results represent evidence that grape-associated microbial biogeography is nonrandomly associated with regional, varietal, and climatic factors across multiscale viticultural zones. As the most dominant and discriminant taxa between regions and varieties have well-characterized impacts on grape and wine qualities, these differences may help explain regional patterns in wine chemicosensory properties (29–33). Whether these regionally differential microbiota actually modulate wine sensory qualities must be experimentally tested, as do all putative features of wine terroir.
"This prospective study also reveals several promising applications for grapevine and wine-fermentation management, with the opportunity to develop tailored strategies for improving grape and wine quality of individual varieties and predictive models for microbial community responses to climatic conditions.
“These exploratory findings pose a paradigm shift in our understanding of food and agricultural systems beyond grape and wine production, wherein microbial communities play active roles in product quality characteristics. Elaboration of the interplay between production region, climate, microbial patterns, and quality outcomes may enhance biological control within these systems, improving the supply, consumer acceptance, and economic value of important agricultural commodities.”
Figure #2: “Varietal variation in bacterial (Left) and fungal (Right) communities of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay grape musts.”
"(A) LDA effect size taxonomic cladogram comparing bacterial communities in all Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel musts. Significantly discriminant taxon nodes are colored and branch areas are shaded according to the highest-ranked variety for that taxon. For each taxon detected, the corresponding node in the taxonomic cladogram is colored according to the highest-ranked group for that taxon. If the taxon is not significantly differentially represented between sample groups, the corresponding node is colored yellow. Highly abundant and select taxa are indicated: C, Citrobacter; E, Erwinia; G, Gluconobacter; H, Hymenobacter; J, Janthinobacterium; K, Klebsiella; L, Lactococcus; M, Microbacteriaceae; P, Pseudomonadaceae; S, Sphingomonas; U, Leuconostocaceae; X, Moraxellaceae; Y, Methylobacterium.
"(B) Weighted UniFrac distance PCoA of bacterial communities in all Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel musts.
"(C and D) One-way ANOVA of select bacterial (C) and fungal taxa (D) exhibiting significant differences between grape varieties. The x axes represent relative abundance (maximum 1.0). Bonferroni-corrected and false-discovery-rate (FDR) corrected P values are shown.
"(E) Bray–Curtis dissimilarity PCoA of fungal communities in all Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel musts. (Inset) Same plot categorized by vintage. The x axis represents relative abundance (maximum 1.0).
“(F) LDA effect size taxonomic cladogram comparing fungal communities in all Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel musts in all regions. Significantly discriminant taxon nodes are colored and branch areas are shaded according to the highest-ranked variety for that taxon. Highly abundant and select taxa are indicated: A, Aureobasidium pullulans; B, Botryotinia fuckeliana; C, Cladosporium; D, Davidiella; G, Rhodotorula glutinis; H, Hanseniaspora; M, Erysiphe necator; N, Sclerostagonospora opuntiae; P, Penicillium; R, Rhizopus oryzae; S, Saccharomyces cerevisiae; T, Lachancea thermotolerans; U, Aspergillus; Y, Cryptococcus; Z, Candida zemplinina…”.
