Better Wine Through Bioinformatics
Native yeasts play a special role in winemaking by contributing to unique regional flavours, but reliance on naturally occurring yeast strains can be challenging when trying to maintain consistency in wine production. In collaboration with the Wine Research Institute at the University of British Columbia, we conducted the first sequencing of Canadian wine yeast strains and revealed that strains isolated from spontaneous wine fermentations are more diverse than previously realized.
In our quest to find the secret of better wine through bioinformatics, we focused on yeast strains found in vineyards in the Okanagan Valley wine region in Canada. Yeast strains from spontaneous grape fermentations were isolated and categorized, and 75 of these were selected for whole genome sequencing.
Our analysis of these strains revealed the presence of four distinct lineages (clades) of yeast, including three previously known lineages and one newly discovered clade unique to Pacific West Coast wines. Yeast strains within the Pacific West Coast Wine clade were isolated for the first time, and were found to have genetic similarity to both wild North American oak tree and European wine yeast strains. We also explored gene copy number variations, shedding light on how different yeasts have adapted to winemaking environments.
We presented these findings at the 35th International Specialized Symposium on Yeasts in Antalya, Turkey: http://www.issy35.com/en/
Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10411583/
