Wine yeasts as a model system in community ecology

Wine fermentation constitutes a transient microbial ecosystem wherein numerous yeast species, originating from the grape surface, engage in interactions. This leads to an ecological succession anticipated to culminate in the ultimate dominance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The diversity of yeast species found in grape musts has a direct impact on the final chemical and aroma complexity of the resulting wines. Understanding the molecular and ecological interaction patterns between wine yeast communities is essential to harness diverse yeast functionalities, with the final aim of producing tailored high-quality wines. 

This webinar with Ignacio Belda, recorded on 08 May 2024, introduced the expectable phylogenetic and functional diversity in wine yeast communities, and discussed how to engineer wine yeast communities (top-down and bottom-up). It explained the necessity of adopting the adequate theoretical framework to address challenging questions in applied ecology and to improve microbiome-based industrial processes.

Learning outcomes

After watching the webinar recording you will be able to:

• Describe the microbial ecology of wine fermentations
• Explore the interface between microbial biotechnology and community ecology to address industrial challenges in microbiome-based processes

You may either watch the entire presentation from the introduction or navigate directly to a specific section by clicking the links provided below:

• Introduction
• First global map of vineyard microbiome
• Building a wine yeast collection
• Prospecting non-conventional yeast
• Q&A

The next section of the collection will focus on exploring the relationship between microbiomes and health and diseases.