Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Modulation of volatile sulfur compounds by wine yeast

  • Mini-Review
  • Published:
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sulfur compounds in wine can be a ‘double-edged sword’. On the one hand, certain sulfur-containing volatile compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, imparting a rotten egg-like aroma, can have a negative impact on the perceived quality of the wine, and on the other hand, some sulfur compounds such as 3-mercaptohexanol, imparting fruitiness, can have a positive impact on wine flavor and aroma. Furthermore, these compounds can become less or more attractive or repulsive depending on their absolute and relative concentrations. This presents an interesting challenge to the winemaker to modulate the concentrations of these quality-determining compounds in wine in accordance with consumer preferences. The wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays a central role in the production of volatile sulfur compounds. Through the sulfate reduction sequence pathway, the HS- is formed, which can lead to the formation of hydrogen sulfide and various mercaptan compounds. Therefore, limiting the formation of the HS- ion is an important target in metabolic engineering of wine yeast. The wine yeast is also responsible for the transformation of non-volatile sulfur precursors, present in the grape, to volatile, flavor-active thiol compounds. In particular, 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one, 3-mercaptohexanol, and 3-mercaptohexyl acetate are the most important volatile thiols adding fruitiness to wine. This paper briefly reviews the metabolic processes involved in the production of important volatile sulfur compounds and the latest strategies in the pursuit of developing wine yeast strains as tools to adjust wine aroma to market specifications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amerine MA, Berg HV, Kunkee RE, Ough CS, Singleton VL, Webb AD (1980) The technology of winemaking, 4th edn. AVI Technical Books, Westport, CT

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonnarme P, Psoni L, Spinnler HE (2000) Diversity of l-methionine catabolism pathways in cheese-ripening bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:5514–5517

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dainty RH, Edwards RA, Hibbard CM, Marnewick JJ (1989) Volatile compounds associated with microbial growth on normal and high pH beef stored at chill temperatures. J Appl Bacteriol 66:281–289

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Darriet P, Tominaga T, Lavigne V, Boidron J, Dubourdieu D (1995) Identification of a powerful aromatic compound of Vitis vinifera L. var. Sauvignon wines: 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one. Flavour Fragr J 10:385–392

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Donalies UEB, Stahl U (2002) Increasing sulfite formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by overexpression of MET14 and SSU1. Yeast 19:475–484

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dubourdieu D, Tominaga T, Masneuf I, Peyrot des Gachons C, Murat ML (2006) The role of yeasts in grape flavor development during fermentation: the example of Sauvignon Blanc. Am J Enol Vitic 57:81–88

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giudici P, Kunkee RE (1994) The effect of nitrogen deficiency and sulfur-containing amino acids on the reduction of sulfate to hydrogen sulfide by wine yeasts. Am J Enol Vitic 45:107–112

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hallinan CP, Saul DJ, Jiranek V (1999) Differential utilization of sulfur compounds for H2S liberation by nitrogen-starved wine yeast. Austral J Grape Wine Res 5:82–90

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henschke PA, Jiranek V (1991) Hydrogen sulfide formation during fermentation: effect of nitrogen composition in model grape must. Proceedings of the international symposium on nitrogen in grapes and wine, Seattle, USA. American Society for Enology and Viticulture, Davis, CA, pp 172–184

  • Henschke PA, Jiranek V (1993) Yeast−growth during fermentation. In: Fleet GH (ed) Wine microbiology and biotechnology. Harwood Academic, Chur, Switzerland, pp 27–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Howell KS, Swiegers JH, Elsey GM, Siebert TE, Bartowsky EJ, Fleet GH, Pretorius IS, de Barros Lopes MA (2004) Variation in 4-mercapto-4-methyl-pentan-2-one release by Saccharomyces cerevisiae commercial wine strains. FEMS Microbiol Lett 240:125–129

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Howell KS, Klein M, Swiegers JH, Hayasaka Y, Elsey GM, Fleet GH, Høj PB, Pretorius IS, de Barros Lopes MA (2005) Genetic determinants of volatile thiol release by Saccharomyces cerevisiae during wine fermentation. Appl Environ Microbiol 71:5420–5426

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Husnik JI, Volschenk H, Bauer J, Colavizza D, Luo Z, van Vuuren HJ (2006) Metabolic engineering of malolactic wine yeast. Metab Eng 8(4):315–323

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jiranek V, Langridge P, Henschke PA (1995) Validation of bismuth-containing indicator media for predicting H2S producing potential of Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeasts under enological conditions. Am J Enol Vitic 46:269–273

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiranek V, Langridge P, Henschke PA (1996) Determination of sulphite reductase activity and its response to assimilable nitrogen status in a commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeast. J Appl Bacteriol 81:329–336

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kappler U, Dahl C (2001) Enzymology and molecular biology of prokaryotic sulfite oxidation. FEMS Microbiol Lett 203:1–9

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masneuf-Pomarède I, Le Jeune C, Durrens P, Lollier M, Aigle M, Dubourdieu D (2006) Influence of fermentation temperature on volatile thiols concentrations in Sauvignon blanc wines. Int J Food Microbiol 108:385–390

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mendes-Ferreira A, Mendes-Faia A, Leao C (2002) Survey of hydrogen sulphide production by wine yeasts. J Food Prot 65:1033–1037

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morales P, Fernandez-Garcia E, Nunez M (2005) Volatile compounds produced in cheese by Pseudomonas strains of dairy origin belonging to six different species. J Agric Food Chem 53:6835–6843

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moreira N, Mendes F, Pereira O, Guedes de Pinho P, Hogg T, Vasconcelos I (2002) Volatile sulphur compounds in wines related to yeast metabolism and nitrogen composition of grape musts. Anal Chim Acta 458:157–167

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murat ML, Masneuf I, Darriet P, Lavigne V, Tominaga T, Dubourdieu D (2001a) Effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains on the liberation of volatile thiols in Sauvignon Blanc wine. Am J Enol Vitic 52:136–139

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murat ML, Tominaga T, Dubourdieu D (2001b) Assessing the aromatic potential of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot musts used to produce rose wine by assaying the cysteinylated precursor of 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol. J Agric Food Chem 49:5412–5417

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Park SK, Boulton RB, Noble AC (2000) Formation of hydrogen sulfide and glutathione during fermentation of white grape musts. Am J Enol Vitic 51:91–97

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pretorius IS (2000) Tailoring wine yeast for the new millennium: novel approaches to the ancient art of winemaking. Yeast 16:675–729

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pretorius IS (2003) The genetic analysis and tailoring of wine yeasts. In: de Winde JH (ed) Genetics and genomics of industrial yeasts. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 99–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretorius IS (2004) The genetic improvement of wine yeasts. In: Arora DK, Bridge PD, Bhatnagar (eds) Handbook of fungal biotechnology. Marcel Dekker, New York, USA, pp 183–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretorius IS (2006) Grape and wine biotechnology: setting new goals for the design of improved grapevines, wine yeast and malolactic bacteria. In: Hui HY, Barta J, Cano MP, Gusek T, Sidhu JS, Sinha N (eds) Handbook of fruits processing science and technology. Blackwell, Ames, IA, USA, pp 453–489

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretorius IS, Bauer FF (2002) Meeting the consumer challenge through genetically customized wine-yeast strains. Trends Biotechnol 20:426–432

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pretorius IS, Høj PB (2005) Grape and wine biotechnology: challenges, opportunities and potential benefits. Austral J Grape Wine Res 11:83–108

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Purdy KJ, Embley TM, Nedwell DB (2002) The distribution and activity of sulphate reducing bacteria in estuarine and coastal marine sediments. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 81:181–187

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rauhut D (1993) Yeasts−production of sulfur compounds. In: Fleet GH (ed) Wine microbiology and biotechnology. Harwood Academic, Chur, Switzerland, pp 183–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Ribéreau-Gayon P, Dubourdieu D, Donéche B, Lonvaud A (2000) Handbook of Enology, vol 1: the microbiology of wines and vinification. Wiley, Chichester, UK, p 454

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell SM, Fletcher DL, Cox NA (1995) Spoilage bacteria of fresh broiler chicken carcasses. Poult Sci 74:2041–2047

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seefeldt KE, Weimer BC (2000) Diversity of sulfur compound production in lactic acid bacteria. J Dairy Sci 83:2740–2746

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spiropoulos A, Bisson LF (2000) MET17 and hydrogen sulfide formation in Saccharomycescerevisiae. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:4421–4426

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Spiropoulos A, Tanaka J, Flerianos I, Bisson LF (2000) Characterization of hydrogen sulfide formation in commercial and natural wine isolates of Saccharomyces. Am J Enol Vitic 51:233–248

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Swiegers JH, Pretorius IS (2005) Yeast modulation of wine flavour. Adv Appl Microbiol 57:131–175

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Swiegers JH, Bartowsky EJ, Henschke PA, Pretorius IS (2005a) Yeast and bacterial modulation of wine aroma and flavour. Austral J Grape Wine Res 11:139–173

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Swiegers JH, Willmott R, Hill-Ling A, Capone DL, Pardon KH, Elsey GM, Howell KS, de Barros Lopes MA, Sefton MA, Lilly M, Pretorius IS (2005b) Modulation of volatile thiol and ester aromas in wine by modified wine yeast. Proceedings of the Weurman flavour research symposium, Roskilde, Denmark, 21–24 June 2005, Developments in Food Science, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  • Swiegers JH, Francis IL, Herderich MJ, Pretorius IS (2006) Meeting consumer expectations through management in vineyard and winery: the choice of yeast for fermentation offers great potential to adjust the aroma of Sauvignon Blanc wine. Austral NZ Wine Ind J 21:34–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland CM, Henschke PA, Langridge P, de Barros Lopes M (2003) Subunit and cofactor binding of Saccharomyces cerevisiae sulfite reductase−towards developing wine yeast with lowered ability to produce hydrogen sulfide. Austral J Grape Wine Res 9:186–193

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton RJ, Bunker A (1989) Characterisation of wine yeasts for genetically modifiable properties. J Inst Brew 95:181–184

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tominaga T, Masneuf I, Dubourdieu D (1995) A S-cysteine conjugate, precursor of aroma of white sauvignon. J Int Sci Vigne Vin 29:227–232

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tominaga T, Peyrot des Gachons C, Dubourdieu D (1998a) A new type of flavour precursors in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sauvignon Blanc: S-cysteine conjugates. J Agric Food Chem 46:5215–5219

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tominaga T, Furrer A, Henry R, Dubourdieu D (1998b) Identification of new volatile thiols in the aroma of Vitis vinifera L. var. Sauvignon Blanc wines. Flavour Fragr J 13:159–162

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tominaga T, Blanchard L, Darriet P, Dubourdieu D (2000). A powerful aromatic volatile thiol, 2-furanmethanethiol, exhibiting roast coffee aroma in wines made from several Vitis vinifera grape varieties. J Agric Food Chem 48:1799–1802

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vermeulen C, Gijs L, Collin S (2005) Sensorial contribution and formation pathways of thiols in foods: a review. Food Rev Int 21:69–137

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vos PJA, Gray RS (1979) The origin and control of hydrogen sulphide during fermentation of grape must. Am J Enol Vitic 30:187–197

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yamagata S (1989) Roles of O-acetyl-l-homoserine sulfhydrylases in micro-organisms. Biochimie 71:1125–1143

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

The research at the Australian Wine Research Institute is supported by Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body the, Grape and Wine Research Development Corporation, with matching funding from the Australian Government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Australian Wine Research Institute, P.O. Box 197, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Adelaide, Australia

    J. H. Swiegers & I. S. Pretorius

Authors
  1. J. H. Swiegers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. I. S. Pretorius
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to I. S. Pretorius.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Swiegers, J.H., Pretorius, I.S. Modulation of volatile sulfur compounds by wine yeast. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 74, 954–960 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0828-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0828-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation