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QTL mapping: an innovative method for investigating the genetic determinism of yeast-bacteria interactions in wine

  • Applied Genetics and Molecular Biotechnology
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Abstract

The two most commonly used wine microorganisms, Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and Oenococcus oeni bacteria, are responsible for completion of alcoholic and malolactic fermentation (MLF), respectively. For successful co-inoculation, S. cerevisiae and O. oeni must be able to complete fermentation; however, this relies on compatibility between yeast and bacterial strains. For the first time, quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was used to elucidate whether S. cerevisiae genetic makeup can play a role in the ability of O. oeni to complete MLF. Assessment of 67 progeny from a hybrid S. cerevisiae strain (SBxGN), co-inoculated with a single O. oeni strain, SB3, revealed a major QTL linked to MLF completion by O. oeni. This QTL encompassed a well-known translocation, XV-t-XVI, that results in increased SSU1 expression and is functionally linked with numerous phenotypes including lag phase duration and sulphite export and production. A reciprocal hemizygosity assay was performed to elucidate the effect of the gene SSU1 in the SBxGN background. Our results revealed a strong effect of SSU1 haploinsufficiency on O. oeni’s ability to complete malolactic fermentation during co-inoculation and pave the way for the implementation of QTL mapping projects for deciphering the genetic bases of microbial interactions.

Key points

• For the first time, QTL analysis has been used to study yeast-bacteria interactions.

• A QTL encompassing a translocation, XV-t-XVI, was linked to MLF outcomes.

• S. cerevisiae SSU1 haploinsufficiency positively impacted MLF by O. oeni.

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Raw data may be supplied upon request, at the discretion of the corresponding authors.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Hélène Mesnage for her assistance in performing the QTL fermentation experiment. We also acknowledge Nick van Holst Pellekaan for capturing images of the automated fermentation platform.

Funding

This work was supported by Australia’s grape growers and winemakers through their investment body, Wine Australia, with matching funds from the Australian Government. LB was supported by joint scholarships from The University of Adelaide and Wine Australia (AGW Ph 1510). JS was supported by Wine Australia project funding (UA1707). JS, KS and VJ are supported by The Australian Research Council Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production (www.ARCwinecentre.org.au; project number IC170100008), which is funded by the Australian Government with additional support from Wine Australia and industry partners. The University of Adelaide is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide (http://www.thewaite.org/waite-partners/wine-innovation-cluster/). PM and EP are supported by Biolaffort (Laffort® Research & Development subsidiary) for this project; in addition PM received a grant from Aquitaine Region (Sesam Project) for genome sequencing and QTL analysis.

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. LB carried out laboratory fermentation experiments; PM and EP provided yeast strains. Data analysis and interpretation was performed by LB, EP and PM. LB wrote the manuscript and EP, JS, KS, JGM, VJ and PM reviewed and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Louise Bartle or Philippe Marullo.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Conflict of interest

EP and PM are employed by Biolaffort. This does not alter the authors’ adherence to all the journal policies on sharing data and materials. All other authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Bartle, L., Peltier, E., Sundstrom, J.F. et al. QTL mapping: an innovative method for investigating the genetic determinism of yeast-bacteria interactions in wine. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 105, 5053–5066 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11376-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11376-x

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