Project Number
IWBT 06-01
Project title
Evaluation of the population dynamics in wine using a non-culturing approach
Project leader
Witthuhn, C Van Rensburg, P Nieuwoudt, H H
Institution
University of Stellenbosch
Team members
Du Toit, M A
Siebrits, L
Project description
Wine fermentation is carried out by a complex microbial population consisting of a succession of yeast and bacterial species. Most previous studies on the microbial population of wine were done by using traditional microbial techniques that included enrichment and culturing on growth media. Even though this approach produced useful information, the tendency might appear different for microbes that are not easily enriched, isolated and cultured on microbial growth media. Examples of these are wine spoilage caused by acetic acid bacteria and Brettanomyces which are now known to be viable but non-culturable. Even though a high level of acetic acid or volatile phenols is detected in the respective spoiled wines, these microbes are notoriously difficult to culture due to their strict growth requirements. The aim of this project is to identify the yeasts and bacteria present in must and wine during different stages of the fermentation, as well as the microbes responsible for the spoilage of the wine using the culture-independent polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy
Presentation(s)
Siebrits, L, Witthuhn, R C, Van Rensburg, P and Du Toit, M A. 2006. PCR-based DGGE fingerprinting and identification of the microbes present in South African red wine. Paper presented at the 14th Congress of the South African Society for Microbiology. 10-12 April, Pretoria, South Africa.
Siebrits, L, Witthuhn, R C, Van Rensburg, P and Du Toit, M A. 2006. PCR-based DGGE fingerprinting and identification of the microbes present in South African red wine. Paper presented at the 29th National Congress of the South African Society for Enology and Viticulture. 15-17 November, Somerset West, South Africa.
De Groot, A C, Osborne, C D, Nieuwoudt, H H, Du Toit, M A and Van Rensburg, P. 2006. Using FTIR-ATR as a rapid tool for discrimination of yeast and bacteria. Paper presented at the 29th National Congress of the South African Society for Enology and Viticulture. 14-17 November, Somerset West, South Africa.
Bester, L, Du Toit, M A, Van Rensburg, P and Witthuhn, R C. 2008. Detection and identification of spoilage microbes in South African wines using PCR-based DGGE analysis. Paper presented at the 14th IUFoST World Congress of Food Science and Technology. 19-23 October, Shanghai, China.
Bester, L, Du Toit, M A, Van Rensburg, P and Witthuhn, R C. 2008. PCR-based DGGE identification of spoilage microbes in South African wines. Paper presented at the 21st International ICFMH Symposium: FoodMicro 2008. 30 August – 4 September, Aberdeen, Scotland.