Ésteres produzidos por via biotecnológica são considerados e classificados como naturais e sua demanda tem aumentado. Várias leveduras podem produzir ésteres e seu método de seleção é altamente importante para inúmeros tipos de indústrias. Trinta e quatro cepas de leveduras, isoladas de vinhos tintos em barris de carvalho elaborados na Serra Gaúcha e de queijos artesanais do Sul do Brasil, foram utilizadas neste trabalho. Cada cepa foi inoculada na superfície de meio sólido inclinado rico em glicose e nitrogênio, diretamente no frasco utilizado para a microextração em fase sólida (SPME) seguida pela injeção num cromatógrafo gasoso com detecção por espectrometria de massas (GC/MS) e quantificação utilizando detector de ionização de chama (GC-FID). O método foi desenvolvido e validado, sendo que a fibra DVB/PDMS/CAR, temperatura de extração de 80˚C e 20 minutos de aquecimento da amostra antes da extração foram as condições ótimas estabelecidas. A metodologia de superfície e resposta foi usada para a otimização da produção de acetato de etila pela levedura Zygosaccharomyces bailii BCV 08, e um planejamento fatorial 22 foi aplicado para determinar as melhores condições de temperatura de cultivo (X1, 20 até 36 ˚C) e agitação (X2, 0 a 200 rev/min). Os melhores resultados foram obtidos com a temperatura de 28 ˚C e 0 rev/min, onde houve um aumento de 60% na produção de acetato de etila. Foram avaliados os efeitos das fontes de carbono (glicose e frutose) e do mosto de uva sobre a produção de acetato de etila. A máxima concentração de acetato de etila produzida foi de 71,11 mg/L, utilizando o mosto de uva como meio. Experimentos utilizando biorreatores de 4L levaram à produção máxima de 133,74 mg/L de acetato de etila, 14,57 mg/L de hexanoato de etila, 4.093,74 mg/L de octanoato de etila e 3.775,28 mg/L de decanoato de etila. / Esters produced by biotechnological means are legally labeled as natural and there is an increasing demand for these products. Several yeasts can accumulate esters, and their selection is highly interesting for many industries. Thirty-four yeast strains isolated from red wine oak barrels of Serra Gaúcha winemaking region and from homemade cheeses of Southern Brazil were used in this research. The yeasts were inoculated in agar slants of a solid medium rich in glucose and nitrogen, directly inside the extraction transparent glass vials, using a headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) method followed by injection of gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC/MS), and quantification by flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The analytical method was developed and validated, and the DVB/PDMS/CAR fiber, extraction temperature of 80˚C, and 20 minutes of sample heating time volatilization prior to the extraction step were the best conditions. A response surface methodology was used to optimize the production of ethyl acetate by Zygosaccharomyces bailii BCV 08, which was selected, and a 22 full factorial central composite design was applied to determine the best conditions for the cultivation temperature (X1, 20 to 36 ˚C) and stirring speed (X2, 0 to 200 rev/min). The best results were found with temperature of 28 ˚C and medium agitation of 0 rev/min, with a 60% increase in ethyl acetate production. We evaluated the effect of the carbon sources (glucose and fructose) and grape must on ethyl acetate formation; the maximal yield was reached with grape must and the highest concentration of ethyl acetate produced was 71.11 mg/L. Employing experiments on bioreactors of 4L, it was possible to improve the esters production by this yeast; a maximal production of 133.74 mg/L of ethyl acetate, 14.57 mg/L of ethyl hexanoate, 4093.74 mg/L of ethyl octanoate, and 3775.28 mg/L of ethyl decanoate was reached.

Ésteres produzidos por via biotecnológica são considerados e classificados como naturais e sua demanda tem aumentado. Várias leveduras podem produzir ésteres e seu método de seleção é altamente importante para inúmeros tipos de indústrias. Trinta e quatro cepas de leveduras, isoladas de vinhos tintos em barris de carvalho elaborados na Serra Gaúcha e de queijos artesanais do Sul do Brasil, foram utilizadas neste trabalho. Cada cepa foi inoculada na superfície de meio sólido inclinado rico em glicose e nitrogênio, diretamente no frasco utilizado para a microextração em fase sólida (SPME) seguida pela injeção num cromatógrafo gasoso com detecção por espectrometria de massas (GC/MS) e quantificação utilizando detector de ionização de chama (GC-FID). O método foi desenvolvido e validado, sendo que a fibra DVB/PDMS/CAR, temperatura de extração de 80˚C e 20 minutos de aquecimento da amostra antes da extração foram as condições ótimas estabelecidas. A metodologia de superfície e resposta foi usada para a otimização da produção de acetato de etila pela levedura Zygosaccharomyces bailii BCV 08, e um planejamento fatorial 22 foi aplicado para determinar as melhores condições de temperatura de cultivo (X1, 20 até 36 ˚C) e agitação (X2, 0 a 200 rev/min). Os melhores resultados foram obtidos com a temperatura de 28 ˚C e 0 rev/min, onde houve um aumento de 60% na produção de acetato de etila. Foram avaliados os efeitos das fontes de carbono (glicose e frutose) e do mosto de uva sobre a produção de acetato de etila. A máxima concentração de acetato de etila produzida foi de 71,11 mg/L, utilizando o mosto de uva como meio. Experimentos utilizando biorreatores de 4L levaram à produção máxima de 133,74 mg/L de acetato de etila, 14,57 mg/L de hexanoato de etila, 4.093,74 mg/L de octanoato de etila e 3.775,28 mg/L de decanoato de etila. / Esters produced by biotechnological means are legally labeled as natural and there is an increasing demand for these products. Several yeasts can accumulate esters, and their selection is highly interesting for many industries. Thirty-four yeast strains isolated from red wine oak barrels of Serra Gaúcha winemaking region and from homemade cheeses of Southern Brazil were used in this research. The yeasts were inoculated in agar slants of a solid medium rich in glucose and nitrogen, directly inside the extraction transparent glass vials, using a headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) method followed by injection of gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC/MS), and quantification by flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The analytical method was developed and validated, and the DVB/PDMS/CAR fiber, extraction temperature of 80˚C, and 20 minutes of sample heating time volatilization prior to the extraction step were the best conditions. A response surface methodology was used to optimize the production of ethyl acetate by Zygosaccharomyces bailii BCV 08, which was selected, and a 22 full factorial central composite design was applied to determine the best conditions for the cultivation temperature (X1, 20 to 36 ˚C) and stirring speed (X2, 0 to 200 rev/min). The best results were found with temperature of 28 ˚C and medium agitation of 0 rev/min, with a 60% increase in ethyl acetate production. We evaluated the effect of the carbon sources (glucose and fructose) and grape must on ethyl acetate formation; the maximal yield was reached with grape must and the highest concentration of ethyl acetate produced was 71.11 mg/L. Employing experiments on bioreactors of 4L, it was possible to improve the esters production by this yeast; a maximal production of 133.74 mg/L of ethyl acetate, 14.57 mg/L of ethyl hexanoate, 4093.74 mg/L of ethyl octanoate, and 3775.28 mg/L of ethyl decanoate was reached.

Ésteres produzidos por via biotecnológica são considerados e classificados como naturais e sua demanda tem aumentado. Várias leveduras podem produzir ésteres e seu método de seleção é altamente importante para inúmeros tipos de indústrias. Trinta e quatro cepas de leveduras, isoladas de vinhos tintos em barris de carvalho elaborados na Serra Gaúcha e de queijos artesanais do Sul do Brasil, foram utilizadas neste trabalho. Cada cepa foi inoculada na superfície de meio sólido inclinado rico em glicose e nitrogênio, diretamente no frasco utilizado para a microextração em fase sólida (SPME) seguida pela injeção num cromatógrafo gasoso com detecção por espectrometria de massas (GC/MS) e quantificação utilizando detector de ionização de chama (GC-FID). O método foi desenvolvido e validado, sendo que a fibra DVB/PDMS/CAR, temperatura de extração de 80˚C e 20 minutos de aquecimento da amostra antes da extração foram as condições ótimas estabelecidas. A metodologia de superfície e resposta foi usada para a otimização da produção de acetato de etila pela levedura Zygosaccharomyces bailii BCV 08, e um planejamento fatorial 22 foi aplicado para determinar as melhores condições de temperatura de cultivo (X1, 20 até 36 ˚C) e agitação (X2, 0 a 200 rev/min). Os melhores resultados foram obtidos com a temperatura de 28 ˚C e 0 rev/min, onde houve um aumento de 60% na produção de acetato de etila. Foram avaliados os efeitos das fontes de carbono (glicose e frutose) e do mosto de uva sobre a produção de acetato de etila. A máxima concentração de acetato de etila produzida foi de 71,11 mg/L, utilizando o mosto de uva como meio. Experimentos utilizando biorreatores de 4L levaram à produção máxima de 133,74 mg/L de acetato de etila, 14,57 mg/L de hexanoato de etila, 4.093,74 mg/L de octanoato de etila e 3.775,28 mg/L de decanoato de etila. / Esters produced by biotechnological means are legally labeled as natural and there is an increasing demand for these products. Several yeasts can accumulate esters, and their selection is highly interesting for many industries. Thirty-four yeast strains isolated from red wine oak barrels of Serra Gaúcha winemaking region and from homemade cheeses of Southern Brazil were used in this research. The yeasts were inoculated in agar slants of a solid medium rich in glucose and nitrogen, directly inside the extraction transparent glass vials, using a headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) method followed by injection of gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC/MS), and quantification by flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The analytical method was developed and validated, and the DVB/PDMS/CAR fiber, extraction temperature of 80˚C, and 20 minutes of sample heating time volatilization prior to the extraction step were the best conditions. A response surface methodology was used to optimize the production of ethyl acetate by Zygosaccharomyces bailii BCV 08, which was selected, and a 22 full factorial central composite design was applied to determine the best conditions for the cultivation temperature (X1, 20 to 36 ˚C) and stirring speed (X2, 0 to 200 rev/min). The best results were found with temperature of 28 ˚C and medium agitation of 0 rev/min, with a 60% increase in ethyl acetate production. We evaluated the effect of the carbon sources (glucose and fructose) and grape must on ethyl acetate formation; the maximal yield was reached with grape must and the highest concentration of ethyl acetate produced was 71.11 mg/L. Employing experiments on bioreactors of 4L, it was possible to improve the esters production by this yeast; a maximal production of 133.74 mg/L of ethyl acetate, 14.57 mg/L of ethyl hexanoate, 4093.74 mg/L of ethyl octanoate, and 3775.28 mg/L of ethyl decanoate was reached.

The theoretical part discusses the yeasts and their taxonomic classification using traditional methods and using modern methods. Detail the work is concerned with descriptions of modern molecular-biology methods. The practical part was analyzed DNA by PCR-fingerprinting (rep-PCR) type of yeasts, which we received from the CCY and subsequent analysis of yeast samples obtained from grape musts. One of the grape must was obtained in 2009 (white grape variety) and the second in 2010 (red grape variety). Both grape musts come as integrated vineyards and organic. Grape musts samples were obtained from the winery Holánek from Ivaň. The cross-comparison of images PCR-fingerprint type yeasts and yeasts PCR-fingerprint samples using BioNumerics was to evaluate the results and conclude that the diversity of yeast flora in grape must.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Popular wine styles prepared from fully-ripened, more mature grapes are characterized by intense fruitiness and varietal flavors. However, lengthy maturation of grapes in the vineyard does not only translate into higher flavor intensity but also into higher sugar levels, which, in turn, leads to wines with higher concentrations of alcohol. Excessive alcohol levels can compromise wine flavor and render wine unbalanced. This, along with health issues and anti-social behavior linked to high-risk alcohol consumption patterns, stricter legislation and increased tax rates associated with high-alcohol wines, have increased demand for wines with reduced alcohol concentrations, without loss of the intense fruity aromas. Although low-alcohol wines can be made using physical post-fermentation processes, such approaches are often expensive and can impact adversely on wine flavor. As an alternative strategy, yeast strains are being developed by several research groups to convert some of the grape sugars into metabolites other than ethanol. Based on promising results from previous preliminary work, this study focused on the development of an industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine strain producing glucose oxidase (GOX; b-D-glucose:oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.3.4). GOX oxidizes b-D-glucose to D-glucono-d-lactone and gluconic acid (GA) extracellularly, thus preventing its entry into glycolysis, thereby diverting a portion of the sugar carbon away from ethanol. The GOX-encoding gene from the foodgrade fungus, Aspergillus niger was used to construct three cassettes (GOX1, GOX2 and GOX2LOX). In these gene cassettes, the A. niger GOX gene was placed under the regulation of the S. cerevisiae phosphoglycerate-kinase-1 gene promoter (PGK1P) and terminator (PGK1T ). To facilitate secretion, in GOX1 the yeast mating pheromone-factor a secretion signal (MFa1S) was fused to the GOX gene, and in GOX2 the native A. niger secretion signal of GOX was used. These gene cassettes were each integrated into the genome of two laboratory yeast strains (BY4742 and S1278b) and one industrial wine yeast strain (VIN13). An additional integration cassette, designated GOX2LOX, was constructed to knock out the IME1 gene in S. cerevisiae. In GOX2LOX, GOX2 was fused to a loxP cassette. VIN13-D1 was obtained by integrating a single copy of GOX2LOX into the IME1 locus. To generate an asporogenic, GOX-producing wine yeast, VIN13-D2 was created by sporulation, micromanipulation and re-diploidisation of VIN13-D1. Comparative analysis indicated that (i) GOX2 resulted in higher levels of extracellular glucose oxidase activity than GOX1; and that (ii) the levels of secreted glucose oxidase activity in the wine yeast transformants were sufficiently high to conduct follow-up small-scale wine fermentation trials. The wine yeast transformant, VIN13-D1 was evaluated under red and white experimental winemaking conditions. Results from this work indicated that glucose oxidase was produced and secreted by VIN13-D1 that dominated the fermentation to the end, but also that the enzyme was not highly active under the evaluated winemaking conditions. Consequently, no significant decrease in ethanol concentrations was observed in the wine made from VIN13-D1 when compared to that from VIN13. Wine samples were analyzed by Fourier transform-middle infrared spectrometry (FT-MIR) to determine the chemical composition and Gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) to evaluate the concentrations of aroma compounds. The levels of gluconic acid were determined by enzymatic assays. Multivariate data analysis (PCA and PLS1-discrim) was applied to highlight significant differences between the wines made by VIN13 (wild-type) and VIN13- D1. Chemometric projections of the score plots for all results allowed insight into all significant variation up to three principal components (PCA) or PLS components, which showed very clearly that GA is a key factor in evaluating the effect of GOX in VIN13-D1 fermentation with regard to VIN13 fermentations. The VIN13- D1 effect manifestations were best shown on PLS1-discrim score plots that revealed that, of the restricted variable subsets the FT-MIR-compounds and GC-compounds yielded better results, with the GC-compounds displaying greater discriminability between cultivars and VIN13 / VIN13-D1. It can be concluded from these results that the greatest influence of VIN13-D1 produced wines could be observed in the aroma components, but, because there were also discriminability effects discernable in the FT-MIR-compounds, thus the flavor components were also affected. The activity of GOX in grape juice was further investigated in controlled small scale fermentations performed in a bio-reactor. It was confirmed that GOX is active under aerobic conditions, inactive under anaerobic conditions, and can be activated instantly when an anaerobic culture is switched to aerobic conditions (simulated micro-oxygenation). These fermentations showed that glucose oxidase is active in grape juice, and that oxygen play a key-role in the enzyme’s activation. Finally, it was shown with the help of a simplified model, that under ideal conditions, GOX secreted from VIN13-D1, can be employed to reduce the ethanol by a predefined concentration for the production of low alcohol wines. This work gives more insight into how to employ a GOX-producing wine yeast during winemaking and strongly suggests the use of micro-oxygenation to activate the enzyme in order to reduce available glucose, thereby diverting a portion of the sugar carbon away from ethanol production. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gewilde wynstyle word dikwels gemaak van volryp, goed ontwikkelde druiwe, gekarakteriseer deur intense aromas en smaakkomponente wat direk met spesifike kultivars geassosieer word. ’n Nadelige gevolg om druiwe te lank aan die wingerdstok te laat bly hang sodat meer intense geurkomponente kan ontwikkel, is die toename in suikerinhoud. Hierdie addisionele suiker lei tot wyne met hoër alkoholvlakke. Te hoë alkoholvlakke kan wyn ongebalanseerd laat voorkom en die smaak nadelig beïnvloed. Dit, tesame met gesondheidsredes en anti-sosiale gedrag wat gekoppel kan word aan die inname van te veel alkohol, strenger wetgewing aangaande dronkbestuur en die toename in belasting op wyne met ’n hoër alkoholinhoud, het aanleiding gegee tot ’n aanvraag vir wyn met ’n verlaagte alkoholinhoud, sonder dat aroma- en geurkomponente ingeboet word. Alhoewel daar sekere fisiese/gemeganiseerde prosesse beskikbaar is om die alkohol in wyn te verwyder of te verminder, is ’n nadeel dat hierdie prosesse baie duur en arbeidsintensief is, en dat dit deur sommige wynpuriste as te ingrypend in die ‘natuurlike’ proses van wynmaak beskou word. Sommige van hierdie alkoholverwyderingsprosesse kan ook die wyn se geur- en aromakomponente nadelig beïnvloed. As alternatief tot hierdie fisies-chemiese prosesse word wyngiste reg oor die wêreld deur verskillende navorsingsgroepe ontwikkel sodat van die druifsuikers nie na alkohol omgeskakel word nie, maar eerder ander metaboliete. Belowende navorsingsresultate in ’n voorafgaande studie het aanleiding gegee tot hierdie navorsingsprojek. In hierdie studie word daar klem gelê op die ontwikkeling, deur middel van genetiese manipulering, van ’n industriële wynras van Saccharomyces cerevisiae sodat dit in staat sal wees om glukose-oksidase (GOX; b-D-glukose:suurstof oksidoreduktase, EC 1.1.3.4) te produseer. GOX kan reeds b-D-glukose in die medium oksideer na glukoonsuur (GA), wat sodoende verhoed dat dit verder gemetaboliseer word via glukolise, en dit het tot gevolg dat ’n gedeelte van die beskikbare suiker nie omgeskakel word na alkohol nie. Die strukturele glukose-oksidase-geen (GOX) van die voedsel-gegradiëerde fungus, Aspergillus niger is gebruik tydens die konstruksie van drie kassette (GOX1, GOX2 en GOX2LOX). Binne hiedie geenkassette is A. niger se GOX-geen se transkripsieinisiëring en -terminering onafhanklik deur die fosfogliseraat-kinase-1-promotor (PGK1P) en termineerder (PGK1T ) bewerkstellig. Om uitskeiding van GOX uit die gis te bewerkstellig, is daar van die a-spesifieke gisferomoon-a-faktor (MFa1S) in GOX1 gebruik gemaak, en in GOX2, van A. niger se eie natuurlike sekresiesein. Hierdie geenkassette is binne-in die genoom van twee labaratoriumgisrasse van S. cerevisiae (BY4742 en S1278b) asook een industriële wyngisras (VIN13) geintegreer. ’n Addisionele integreringskasset (die sogenaamde GOX2LOX-kasset) is gemaak om die IME1-geen van S. cerevisiae te elimineer. Binne die GOX2LOXkasset is GOX2 aan ’n loxP-kasset gekoppel. Die nuwe wyngis VIN13-D1 is verkry deur ’n genomiese integrasie van GOX2LOX binne-in die IME1-lokus. Om die niesporulerende GOX-produserende wyngis VIN13-D2 te verkry, is VIN13-D1 gesporuleer, onderwerp aan mikromanipulasie en toegelaat om te herdiploidiseer. Ontledings het aangedui dat (i) GOX2 aanleiding gegee het tot hoër vlakke van ekstrasellulêre glukose-oksidase aktiwiteit in vergelyking met GOX1; en (ii) dat die vlakke van uitgeskeide biologies-aktiewe glukose-oksidase vir die wyngisrasse aansienlik hoër was. Dit het verdere kleinskaalse wynfermentasies geregverdig. Die getransformeerde wyngis VIN13-D1 is op eksperimentele skaal in die maak van rooi- en witwyn geëvalueer. Ontledings van hierdie eksperimentele wyne het daarop gedui dat glukose-oksidase deur die VIN13-D1-gisselle geproduseer en suksesvol uitgeskei tydens die wynmaakproses is, en dat VIN13-D1 die fermentasie gedomineer het en die alkoholiese gisting voltooi het. Resultate het egter ook aangedui dat die geproduseerde glukose-oksidase nie baie aktief was onder die wynmaaktoestande wat in hierdie eksperimentele wynmaakproses gegeld het nie, en gevolglik was daar nie ’n drastiese verlaging in die alkoholvlakke sigbaar toe VIN13-D1 se wyne met VIN13 se wyne vergelyk is nie. Wynmonsters is deur middel van Fourier-transformasie-mid-infrarooispektroskopie (FT-MIR) ontleed ten einde die chemiese samestelling te bepaal, en gaschromatografie-massaspektrometrie (GCMS) is aangewend om die wynaromakomponente te bepaal. Die vlakke van glukoonsuur is deur middel van ensiematiese reaksies bepaal. Multiveranderlike data-analise [hoofkomponentanalise (PCA) en parsiële kleinte kwadrate (PLS1) diskriminantanalise] is op die data van die verskeie analitiese tegnieke toegepas om onderliggende veskille tussen die wyne van VIN13 (wilde-tipe) en VIN13-D1 uit te wys. Chemometriese projeksies het aangetoon dat daar wel beduidende variasies sigbaar was tot en met drie hoofkomponente en/of PLS-komponente wat duidelik aandui dat glukoonsuur ’n sleutelfaktor was ten opsigte van die uitwerking wat GOX op VIN13-D1- fermentasies in vergelyking met VIN13-fermentasies. VIN13-D1 effek manifestasies is die beste waargeneem op grafieke wat PLS1-diskriminantanalise-data bevat. Verder het PLS1-diskriminantanalise ook aangetoon dat van die ‘groepe’ wat gebruik was tydens die analise, die FT-MIR-komponente en die GC-komponente beter resultate gelewer het. Die GC-komponente het hulle verder daartoe geleen om tussen die verskillende kultivars en VIN13/VIN13-D1-fermentasies te diskrimineer. Daar kan dus met sekerheid gesê word dat die grootste invloed in VIN13-D1 wyne sigbaar is in die aromakomponent, maar omdat daar wel ook variasies sigbaar was in die MIR-komponente, dat die smaakkomponente ook beïnvloed was. Die aktiwiteit van GOX in druiwesap is verder ondersoek deur gebruik te maak van kleinskaalse fermentasies in bioreaktors. Daar is bevestig dat die VIN13-D1- geproduseerde GOX biologies-aktief was tydens aerobiese kondisies, onaktief was tydens anaerobiese kondisies, en onmiddelik geaktiveer kon word wanneer ’n anaerobiese fermentasie aerobies gemaak word (gesimuleerde mikro-oksigenasie). Hierdie verskillende fermentasies dui daarop dat glukose-oksidase inderdaat aktief is in druiwesap, en dat suurstof ’n sleutelfaktor is tydens die aktivering van die ensiem. Met behulp van ’n vereenvoudigde model kon aangetoon word dat tydens ideale toestande dit wel moontlik is om die alkoholvlakke te verlaag na ’n voorafbepaalde konsentrasie vir die bereiding van lae-alkohol wyne. Hierdie studie verskaf verdere insig hoe om ’n GOX-produserende wyngis gedurende die wynmaakproses vir die verlaging van die alkoholvlakke te benut. Verder is dit duidelik dat suurstof van kardinale belang is vir die aktivering van die glukoseoksidase- ensiem en dat ’n tegniek soos mikro-oksigenasie ’n belangrike rol in hierdie verband tydens die wynmaakproses sou kon speel.

Thesis (PhDAgric (Viticulture and Oenology. Wine Biotechnology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Stuck alcoholic fermentations are a major enological problem for the international winemaking industry. Incomplete wine fermentations are frequently characterized by high residual fructose concentrations and the near-absence of residual glucose, a fact that is due to the glucophilic character of the wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Wines with high contents of post fermentation sugar are very susceptible for microbial spoilage since residual fructose and/or glucose can be metabolized by bacteria and yeast to undesired by-products such as volatile acid and off-flavours, resulting in wine spoilage and considerable economic losses. It has been reported that stuck fermentations are usually caused by several synergistically acting inhibition factors, and the glucose to fructose ratio (GFR) is thought to play an important role in this context. This study is aimed at contributing towards a better understanding of this industrial problem, and at finding industrially applicable solutions. In a first part, this study describes the isolation of two appropriate strains of the fructophilic yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii from the natural microflora of grapevine, followed by trials in small scale test fermentations using stuck industrial fermentations as model media. These experiments were expanded to also investigate large scale industrial fermentations. As a result, a strategy for the treatment of stuck fermentations was developed and successfully applied in several wineries with fermentation problems. This methodology represents an entirely novel and industrially applicable solution to high residual fructose levels. In a second part, the data contributes to elucidating the molecular nature of the fructophilic phenotype of Z. bailii by characterizing some of the genes and proteins that may be responsible for the fructophilic character. In particular, the investigation focused on the first two steps of hexose metabolism, the transport of sugar into the cell by permeases and sugar phosphorylation by hexokinases, which combined are thought to be primarily responsible for sugar preference. One result of this study was Fructoferm W3©, a dry yeast product which is commercially available. Fructoferm W3 was awarded with the innovation medal for enological products at Intervitis/Interfructa, Stuttgart, Germany in 2007. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die voorkoms van steek alkoholiese fermentasies is ‘n ernstige problem in die internasionale wyn industrie. Onvolledige fermentasies word dikwels gekenmerk deur hoë residuele fruktose konsentrasies en die veitlike afwesigheid van residuele glukose. Die kenmerke kan meestal toegeskryf word aan die glukofilliese kakakter van die wyngis Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Wyne met ‘n hoë suiker inhoud na die afloop van fermentasie is vatbaar vir mikrobiese bederf aangesien residuele fruktose en/of glukose gemetaboliseer kan word deur bakterië en gis om ongewenste byprodukte soos vlugtige sure en bygeure te vorm wat kan lei tot wyn bederf en aansienlike ekonomies verlies. Dit is vasgestel dat steek fermentasies gewoonlik veroorsaak word deur verskeie sinergisties werkende inhibisie faktore, waartoe die glukose/fruktose verhouding ‘n noemenswaardiege bydrae lewer. Die mikpunt van hierdie studie was om ‘n bydrae te lewer tot die begrip van steek fermentasies en die daarstelling van moontlike industriële oplossings. Die eerste deel van die werk beskryf die isolasie van twee rasse van die gis Zygosaccharomyces baillie uit die natuurlike wingerd mikroflora, gevolg deur steekproewe in die vorm van kelinskaalse fermentasies met steek industriële fermentasies gebruik as model media. Hierdie ekserimente is vervolgens uitgebrei om grootskaalse industriële steek fermentasies te bestudeer. Die uitkoms van hierdie werk het gelei tot die ontwikkeling van ‘n strategie vir die behandeling van steek fermentasies wat susksesvol toegepas is in verskeie wynmakerye. Die metodiek bring ‘n nuwe en industrieel toepasbare oplossing vir hoë residuele fruktose vlakke. Die data aangebied in die tweede afdeling dra by tot die verheldering van die molekulêre natuur van die fruktofilliese fenotipe van Z. baillie deur die tipering van gene en protiëne wat moontlik verantwoordelik is vir die fruktofilliese karakter van die gis. Die ondersoek het spesifiek op die eerste twee stappe van heksose metabolisme, naamlik die invoer van suiker in die sel deur permeases en suiker fosforilering deur heksokinases, gekonsentreer. Die kombinasie van die twee prosesse is vermoedelik verantwoordelik vir die regulering van suiker voorkeur. ‘n Gevolg van die studie was die ontwikkeling van ‘n droë gisproduk, Fructferm W3©, wat kommersieel beskikbaar gestel is. Fructoferm W3 is in 2007 toegeken met die innovasie medalje vir wynkundige produkte by Intervittis/Interfructa in Stuttgart, Duitsland.

Thesis (MScAgric (Viticulture and Oenology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: One of the most striking qualities of wine is its tart, sour taste. The sensory perception of sourness is mainly attributed to the presence of hydrogen ions (protons) at high concentrations. Large amounts of weak carboxylic acids (organic acids) are the main sources of these ions within wine. Once wine enters a person's mouth, the dissociable protons of the weak organic acids within wine are partially neutralized or, in other words, titrated by the saliva secreted inside one's mouth. This explains why the duration and intensity of a wine's sourness is related to its titratable acidity content. The sour taste of wine is usually considered refreshing and it helps balance wine flavour. In fact, wines become watery when its titratable acidity content is too low. After alcoholic fermentation, the titratable acidity of wine will usually be less than that of the grape juice from which was made due to ethanol-induced precipitation of potassium bitartrate crystals and partial consumption of malic acid by fermenting wine yeasts. Occasionally however, increases in titratable acidity are observed during alcoholic fermentation. If wine is produced from grape juice with optimum levels of titratable acidity, unforeseen increases in titratable acidity during alcoholic fermentation can be detrimental to the quality of the final product. Although the net production of malic acid by wine yeasts contributes to increases in titratable acidity seen during grape juice fermentations, the production of succinic acid is regarded as the primary contributor. In fact, succinic acid accounts for approximately 90% of the non-volatile acids produced during fermentation of grape juice. Between 0.5 and 1.5 g/L succinic acid is normally found in wine, but higher concentrations thereof (up to 3.0 g/L) have been detected within certain red wines. Acidity adjustments should preferably be carried out before the onset of alcoholic fermentation to allow better integration of the added compound(s) and to ensure that conditions during fermentation favour the quality and microbial stability of the final product. In doing so unfortunately, winemakers run the risk of ending up with wines that may taste too sour if they are unable to accurately predict and take into consideration the amount of succinic acid produced during alcoholic fermentation. Knowledge with regard to the factors involved in succinic acid's production by fermenting wine yeasts is therefore required in order to manage the titratable acidity of wines more accurately. Ever since Louis Pasteur first noticed succinic acid amongst the by-products of alcoholic fermentation, attempts have been made to determine the metabolic pathways and factors involved in its production by fermenting wine yeasts. Up until now however, it remains unclear why wines sometimes end up with exceptionally high levels of succinic acid. For these reasons it was decided to investigate the possible causes of very high succinic acid concentrations within wine. Due to complexity of grape juice's chemical composition and the problems associated with sterilizing grape juice, fermentation experiments were conducted within a chemically defined grape juice-like medium. Succinic acid production by nine different industrial wine yeast strains was studied under various conditions with regard to the nutrient status of the synthetic grape juice, temperature and availability of molecular oxygen during alcoholic fermentation. The amount of succinic acid produced during alcoholic fermentation was found to depend on the yeast strain, fermentation temperature and chemical composition of the synthetic grape juice. Out of the nine commercial yeast strains selected for this study, strain WE372 produced the largest amount of succinic acid in synthetic grape juice at 28°C. Strain WE372 produced significantly smaller amounts of acetic acid than the other yeast strains of this study and very little acetic acid at 28°C, which indicated that strain WE372 may have less acetaldehyde dehydroganase activity than the other yeast strains of this study under the conditions tested. The effect this has on NAD: NADH balance is the probable cause for its ability to form more glycerol, succinic and malic acid than the other strains. Results from our study show that succinic acid production is influenced primarily by the metabolizable fraction of YAN, which we termed metabolically available nitrogen (MAN). Succinic acid production by fermenting yeasts will be favoured by moderate to high fermentation temperatures (20°C to 28°C) in grape juice with a nicotinic acid and/ or nicotinamide deficiency, high sugar content (200 g/L to 240 g/L), moderate amounts of metabolically available nitrogen (300 ± 50 mg/L MAN), the presence of flavonoids and large supplies of unsaturated long-chain fatty acids. Even higher concentrations of succinic acid were produced when oxygen was made available to fermenting yeasts by aerating the fermenting grape juice. Fermentation temperatures below 18°C, too much metabolizable nitrogen (> 450 mg/L MAN), very high concentrations of fermentable sugar (> 240 g/L), lipid deficiencies and a lack of pantothenic acid, thiamine, biotin or pyridoxine will decrease the amount of succinic acid produced fermenting yeasts. / No Afrikaans summary available.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The yeast species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and S. bayanus are well known for the key role they play during alcoholic fermentation in both wine and beer industries. These yeasts are available in pure active dried form and can be used to produce different wine styles and to manage quality. There are more than 200 commercial wine yeast strains on the market and include naturally isolated strains and hybrids. With all these commercial yeasts available, strain authenticity is very important to the manufacturer of active dried wine yeasts (ADWY) because it can prevent commercial losses and maintain market credibility. It is as important to the winemaker as it may impact wine quality. Various traditional and molecular techniques have been successfully applied to perform quality control of wine yeast strains. The aims of this study were to evaluate electrophoretic karyotyping (CHEF) and PCRbased methods to distinguish between Saccharomyces wine yeast strains and to establish a database containing molecular profiles of commercial strains. CHEF karyotyping was chosen because it is generally used in the wine industry to distinguish between wine yeast strains, but can be time-consuming. Alternatively, PCR-based methods are considered to be reliable and fast. These PCR methods included the evaluation of interdelta regions, multiplex-PCR of miniand microsatellites, MET2 gene RFLP analysis and the use of several species-specific primers. In this study, 62 commercial wine yeast strains, were randomly selected from various manufacturers of ADWY, and two reference strains, S. bayanus CBS 380 and S. cerevisiae CBS 1171, were evaluated. CHEF karyotyping could successfully differentiate between all 64 yeast strains. The two primer sets used for interdelta amplifications, delta1-2 and delta12-21, yielded 59 and 62 profiles, respectively. Yeast strains considered to be similar or identical according to interdelta amplification results, were resolved with CHEF karyotyping. CHEF karyotyping was proven to be more accurate than interdelta amplifications in distinguishing between commercial wine yeast strains. However, the results of interdelta amplifications were very useful and less time-consuming. The multiplex-PCR of mini- and microsatellite primers only succeeded in identifying a specific band within 55 of the 64 yeast strains including the S. cerevisiae reference strain, a possible indication of species specificity. However, oenological designation using MET2 gene RFLP analysis and species-specific primers indicated that all the commercial strains in this study had a S. cerevisiae ancestry. Restriction analysis of the MET2 gene with EcoRI also successfully identified AWRI Fusion and Zymaflore X5 as hybrid yeast strains. A wine yeast database was created and contains three libraries, i.e. CHEF karyotypes, delta1-2 and delta12-21 electrophoretic profiles. The database was proven to be functional and showed great accuracy in grouping and identifying test strains. The database has many possible applications, but there is still some optimisation and refinement needed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Saccharomyces sensu stricto kompleks, is bekend vir die belangrike rol wat hierdie giste speel tydens alkoholiese fermentasie in biede wyn en bier industrieë. Dit is om hierdie rede dat kelders rein aktief gedroogte wyngis gebruik vir die produksie van spesifieke wynstyle, asook kwaliteit. Daar is meer as 200 kommersiële wyngiste op die mark beskikbaar en dit sluit natuurlike isolate en hibriede in. Daarom is gisras verifikasie baie belangrik vir die vervaardiger van aktief gedroogde wyngiste asook die wynmaker om finansiële verliese te voorkom en mark vertrouenswaardigheid te handhaaf. Verskeie tradisionele en molekulêre metodes word suksesvol toegepas vir gehalte beheer van die gisrasse. Die doel van hierdie studie was om elektroforetiese kariotipering (CHEF) en PKR gebaseerde tegnieke se vermoë om tussen Saccharomyces wyngiste te onderskei, te ondersoek. Ook deel van die doelwitte was om ‘n databasis te skep wat die verskillende elektroforetiese profiele van die kommersiële gisrasse bevat. Tydens hierdie studie is 62 kommersiële gisrasse van verskeie vervaardigers ewekansig geselekteer. Saccharomyces bayanus CBS 380 en S. cerevisiae CBS 1171 is as verwysingsrasse gebruik. Elektroforetiese kariotipering (CHEF) is gekies omdat dit een van die mees algemeenste tegnieke is wat gebruik word om tussen wyngiste te onderskei, maar dit word as tydrowend en arbeidsintensief beskou. As ‘n alternatief is daar na PKR gebaseerde tegnieke gekyk. Hierdie tegnieke word as betroubaar en vinnig beskou. Verskeie PKR gebaseerde tegnieke is ondersoek, naamlik PKR van interdelta areas, multipleks-PKR van mini- en mikrosatelliete, MET2 geen RFLP analise en die gebruik van spesie-spesifieke inleiers. Interdelta amplifikasies en mini- en makrosatelliet inleiers is geselekteer as gevolg van hul vermoë om Saccharomyces wyngiste tot op spesie en ras vlak te onderskei. Die MET2 geen en spesie-spesifieke inleiers is geselekteer om die kommersiele wyngis as S. cerevisiae, S. bayanus of as hibriede te klassifiseer. CHEF kariotipering kon tussen al 64 giste onderskeid tref. Die twee stelle inleiers wat vir interdelta amplifikasie gebruik was, delta1-2 en delta12-21, het onderskeidelik 59 en 62 profiele gelewer. Gis rasse wat identiese profiele met die delta inleiers gelewer het, kon egter met CHEF kariotipering onderskei word. Die resultate het getoon dat CHEF kariotipering beter tussen die kommersiële wyngiste kon onderskei as die interdelta amplifikasies, maar dat die interdelta amplifikasies nogsteeds goeie onderskeiding toon en dat dit minder tydrowend is. Die multipleks-PKR van mini- en mikrosatelliete kon slegs ‘n enkele band in 55 van die 64 giste uit lig. ‘n Moontlike aanduiding van spesie spesifiekheid. Die oenologiese groepering volgens MET2 geen analise en spesies-spesifieke inleiers dui aan dat al die kommersiele wyngiste wat in hierdie studie gebruik is, moontlik van S. cerevisiae afkomstig is. Restriksie analise van die MET2 geen met EcoRI het ook AWRI Fusion en Zymaflore X5 as hibriede geïdentifiseer. Die CHEF kariotipes en interdelta elektroforetiese profiele is gebruik om ‘n databasis van die kommersiële Saccharomyces wyngiste op te stel. Die databasis is funksioneel en het die toets rasse akkuraat geïdentifiseer en korrek gegroepeer. Die databasis moet egter nog verdere optimisering en verfyning ondergaan.