Here, we present a protocol to describe amplicon metagenomic for determining the bacterial community of Traminette grapes, fermenting grapes, and final wine.
Advances in sequencing technology and the relatively easy access to the use of bioinformatics tools to profile microbial community structures have facilitated a better understanding of both culturable and non-culturable microbes in grapes and wine. During industrial fermentation, microbes, known and unknown, are often responsible for product development and off-flavor. Therefore, profiling the bacteria from grape to wine can enable an easy understanding of in situ microbial dynamics. In this study, the bacteria of Traminette grapes must undergoing fermentation, and the final wine were subjected to DNA extraction that yielded 15 ng/µL to 87 ng/µL. The 16S amplicon of the hypervariable region of the V4 region was sequenced, relatively abundant bacteria consisting of phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Fusobacteriota and followed by the Verrucomicrobiota, Halobacterota, Desulfobacterota, Myxococcota, and Acidobacteriota. A Venn diagram analysis of the shared unique operational taxonomic units (OTU) revealed that 15 bacteria phyla were common to both grape must, fermenting stage, and final wine. Phyla that were not previously reported were detected using the 16S amplicon sequencing, as well as genera such as Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae. Variation in the organic nutrient use in wine and its impact on bacteria was tested; Traminette R tank containing Fermaid O and Traminette L stimulated with Stimula Sauvignon blanc + Fermaid O. Alpha diversity using the Kruskal-Wallis test determined the degree of evenness. The beta diversity indicated a shift in the bacteria at the fermentation stage for the two treatments, and the final wine bacteria looked similar. The study confirmed that 16S amplicon sequencing can be used to monitor bacteria changes during wine production to support quality and better utilization of grape bacteria during wine production.
Traminette grape is characterized by production of superior wine quality, in addition to appreciable yield and partial resistance to several fungal infections1,2,3. The natural fermentation of grapes relies on associated microorganisms, wine production environment, and fermentation vessels4,5. Oftentimes, many wineries rely on wild yeast and bacteria for fermentation, production of alcohol, esters, aroma, and flavor development6.
The goal of this study is to examine the bacterial composition of grapes and monitor their dynamics during fermentation. Although, the modern use of starter cultures such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae for primary fermentation, where alcohol is produced, is common to different wine styles7. In addition, secondary fermentation, where malic acid is decarboxylated by Oenococcus oeni to lactic acid, improves the organoleptic and taste profile of the wine and reduces the acidity of wine8,9. With the recent advances in the use of culture-independent methods, it is now possible to determine different microbes associated with the wine grape and the species that are transferred to must and participate in the fermentation at different times up to the final product10.
The roles and dynamics of wild bacteria from different grapes transferred to the must during wine fermentation are poorly understood. The taxonomy of many of these bacteria is not even known, or their phenotypic properties are uncharacterized. This makes their application in coculture fermentation still poorly underutilized. However, microbiological culture-based analysis has been used to determine the bacterial population associated with grapes and wine10. It is widely known that selective culture plating is tedious, prone to contamination, has a low reproducibility, and output can be doubtful; it also misses bacterial species whose growth requirements are unknown. Previous studies indicate that culture-independent, 16S rRNA gene-based methodologies offer a more dependable and cost-effective approach to characterizing complex microbial communities11. For example, sequencing the hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene has been successfully employed to study bacteria in grapes leaves, berries, and wine12,13,14. Studies have shown that the use of either 16S rRNA metabarcoding or whole metagenomic sequencing is suitable for microbiome studies15. There is emerging information about the possible linkage of bacterial diversity to their metabolic attributes during wine production, which could help in the determination of oenological properties and terroir16.
The need to maximize the advantages of the metagenomic tools using next-generation sequencing (NGS) to study the grape and wine microbial ecology has been emphasized16,17. Also, the use of culture-independent methods based on high throughput sequencing to profile microbial diversity of the food and fermentation ecosystem has become very relevant and valuable to many laboratories and is recommended for industrial use18,19. It provides an advantage of detection and taxonomic profiling of the present microbial populations and the contribution of environmental microbes, their relative abundance, and alpha and beta diversity20. The sequencing of the variable region of the 16S region has become an important gene of choice and has been used during different microbial ecological studies.
While many studies focus on fungi, especially yeast, during wine fermentation21, this study reported the 16S amplicon sequencing and bioinformatic tools used to study the bacteria during Traminette grapes fermentation for wine production.
1. Experimental wine production
2. DNA extraction for metagenomics
3. DNA electrophoresis
4. High throughput sequencing
5. Bioinformatics
6. Statistical analysis
The quantity and quality of DNA extracted from grapes must, fermenting wine, and final wine were first determined; the quantity value ranges from 15-87 ng/µL (Table 1).
Sequencing and bioinformatics
The Illumina high throughput sequencer generated a FASTQ file that was imported to the Nephele and viewed on QIIME 2 platform26. Firstly, FastQC software was used to check for the sequence quality. Then, it was trimmed at both 5'- and 3'- ends to eliminate poor quality nucleotides, denoised, merged, and depleted of chimeric sequences before clustering into OTUs (operational definition for a species) using the DADA2 denoiser23. They were mapped to bacterial taxa using the SILVA v138.1 database. The sequences were clustered into OTU based on 99% nucleotide sequence similarity. Figure 1 shows the DADA2 rarefaction curves for the OTUs; it reached a plateau. This indicated that enough sequences were covered to indicate the majority of the microbial diversity. Replicate analysis of the sequences did not generate any significant difference.
The heatmap based on the relative abundance of the bacteria at different regimes from grape must to wine is shown in Figure 2. The most dominant phyla indicated in red consist of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Fusobacteriota, and, followed by the Verrucomicrobiota, Halobacterota, Desulfobacterota, Myxococcota, and Acidobacteriota. The least abundant bacteria were indicated in blue. Many of these groups were present in must, when yeast was added but absent during fermentation, especially Nitrospirota, Bdellovibrionota, Nitrospinota, Armatimonadota, Gemmatimonadota, Chloroflexi, Campilobacterota, Deinococcota, Patescibacteria, Planctomycetota, Abditibacteriota, Crenarchaeota, Spirochaetota, Dependentiae, Thermotogota, Methylomirabilota and Elusimicrobiota. The relative abundance was also determined at the genus level, and the results indicated important genera such as Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae, as shown in Figure 3. A Venn diagram analysis of the shared unique OTU revealed 15 bacteria were present from the wine grape must to the final wine (Figure 4). The results of the amplicon sequencing based on the V4 variable region also indicated the alpha diversity in the two Traminette R and L. Figure 4 shows the species evenness as a mark of distribution, which is different between the two nutritional treatments. The data showed that the diversity shift in the Stimula Sauvignon blanc + Fermaid O was lower than 1 at 13.4 brix, and evenness approaches zero as relative abundances vary. The data was also analyzed for beta diversity; Figure 5 shows the difference between the two fermentation Traminette R and L; the bacteria were similar at the must and yeast-added stages. There was a shift in the bacteria at the fermentation stage for the two treatments, and it looks similar in the final wine (Figure 6).
Figure 1: Rarefaction plots of observed OTUs. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Relative abundance heatmap. The heatmap of the relative abundance at phylum levels R and L were not significantly different (p ≤0.05). The legend bar indicates the key score. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: Relative abundance of the top ten taxa. The relative abundance at genus level of top ten taxa ranked by media with Wilcoxon rank sum test (p ≤0.05). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4: Venn diagram. The unique and shared bacteria among the must, yeast added, fermentation, and wine. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 5: Alpha diversity of Traminette R and Traminette L. Alpha diversity of Shannon's H index of the two nutritional Fermaid O and Stimula Sauvignon blanc and Fermaid O (Dunn > 0.05) based on the analysis of Kruskal-Wallis test. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 6: Principal component analysis. Principal component analysis of 16S rRNA data of beta diversity based on Bray-Curtis of the two nutritional Fermaid O and Stimula Sauvignon Blanc and Fermaid O at different stages of wine production. The blue circle represents a cluster of must and yeast addition stages. The red circle indicates the final wine and the black circle is the fermentation stage in the two treatments. Axis 1 and 2 are variations. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Sampling date | Sample | A260/A280 | Concentration ng/µL Traminette R | A260/A280 | Concentration ng/µL Traminette L |
8/30/21 | Grape | 1.762 | 37 | 1.75 | 28 |
8/31/31 | Must | 1.769 | 23 | 1.818 | 20 |
09-02-2021 | Rest | 1.667 | 15 | -1 | 1 |
09-04-2021 | Yeast added | 2.185 | 59 | 1.968 | 61 |
09-06-2021 | Fermenting | 2.023 | 87 | 2.048 | 43 |
09-09-2021 | Fermenting | 3.4 | 17 | 2.048 | 43 |
9/14/21 | Final wine | 2.143 | 30 | 2.042 | 49 |
Table 1: The quantity and quality of DNA extracted from grapes must, fermenting wine, and final wine.
The protocol of metagenomics starts from the sampling of the grape must, and when yeast was added to the must, the fermenting wine and final wine samples. This was followed by duplicate DNA extraction that was successfully extracted from these samples. The quantities obtained varied in concentration from 15 ng/ µL to 87 ng/ µL. This shows that the DNA extraction protocol is effective for metagenomic studies of wine. Although the quality of the DNA at A260/A280 varies, this may be attributed to different parameters that may affect extraction, such as alcohol concentration and other fermentation metabolites that developed during and post-fermentation, as well as other organic plant materials that may inhibit genome extraction. Previous studies have reported a similar observation on the metagenomic plant material27. However, the DNA extracted in the protocol described achieved a quantity that was enough for the next step of the analysis. The PCR barcoding needed for metagenomic studies, especially using the Illumina sequencing platform, requires that the minimum DNA quantity be set at 1 ng/L. The V4 region was sequenced, and the determination of the bacterial diversity requires the use of 16S rRNA gene sequencing; this gene has different variable regions from V1-V923. A total of 6,393,443 paired-end sequence reads with an average of 399590.1875 ± 138442.6148 from the DNA extracted from the different samples. V4 has been commonly used, and it is referred to as the hypervariable region of the gene that is good for bacterial taxonomic and diversity analysis. During sequencing, paired Illumina sequencing ca. 200-300 bp sequences were generated. There are different platforms used for sequencing DNA extracted from food and fermented beverages28. The reasons for using the Illumina platform are the following: (1) Illumina is a 2nd second-generation sequencing platform with excellent output, and its chemistry gives a low error rate and profile. It is also affordable compared to available commercial kits for library prep, and its relatively short reads are ideal for differential expression. The final step of the protocol was bioinformatics, an important component of the use of amplicon 16 sequencing for the determination of microbial diversity. The quality check of the sequences FASTQ file obtained was very good, and the OTUs obtained from QIIME resulted in a taxonomic analysis shown in the results of relative abundance, alpha, and beta diversity.
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has become an important tool for profiling the bacteria of different fermentation microbial communities. In this study, the 16S amplicon classification was first done at the phylum level, and a more diverse group of bacteria was noticed than previously reported12 during grape wine fermentation; 15 phyla were also shared, as indicated from the analysis of the Venn result. Also, analysis at the genus level showed the presence of important genera, such as Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae that were more abundant in the Traminette R tank. We limited our analysis to genus-level taxonomy; there are studies where the method has been used for identification at species-level taxonomy through high-resolution sample inference23. One of the limitations of amplicon sequencing is that the sequence data cannot determine strain-level taxonomy because of the short length of the 16S rRNA sequence. Another limitation is the detection of chloroplast and mitochondria. It will be desirable if the bioinformatic procedure can be used to eliminate these sequences since they are contaminants of grape plants. However, amplification protocol utilizing PNA-DNA clamps to maximize chloroplast and mitochondria contamination29. The high abundance of Firmicute in grapes must, during fermentation and final wine, agree with the previous studies on wine grape30. The results of the alpha diversity analysis indicated the bacteria evenness of each fermentation nutritional treatment; it appears the Stimula Sauvignon blanc + Fermaid O nutrient generated a more diverse bacterium. In addition, the beta diversity data showed the shift in the bacteria at the fermentation stage; dynamic changes indicate that the fermentation stage is a very important period where the nutritional changes affect bacterial selection. The technique can be adapted and used by industries to monitor fermentation and improve quality and consistency28. However, further studies will be needed to better understand the impact of organic nutrients on microbial diversity during wine fermentation.
This study is the first to examine the bacteria diversity during the fermentation of Traminette grapes and wine using the 16S amplicon barcode sequencing to determine the bacteria changes. This confirmed the diversity of bacteria at the phylum and genus levels. Proteobacteria, followed by Firmicutes, were the most abundant as the fermentation progressed to the final wine. Many phyla that were not previously reported were detected using the 16S amplicon sequencing, and this confirmed that the method can be used to monitor wine production. Alpha diversity showed the role of nutritional change; it impacted the fermentation bacteria, while beta diversity indicates the changes during the fermentation stage. Further studies are needed to investigate the functional roles that many of the described phyla and genera play in wine fermentation.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Funding from the Appalachian State University Research Council (URC) grant and CAPES Print Travel fellowship that supported the visit of FAO to Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto – São Paulo, Brazil, are gratefully acknowledged. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. ECPDM is grateful for the CAPES Print Travel grant that supported her visit to Appalachian State University. ECPDM is a research fellow 2 from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Brasil (CNPq).
Agarose gel | Promega, Madison, WI USA | V3121 | Electrophoresis |
FastPrep DNA spinKit for soil | MP Biomedicals, Solon, OH USA | 116560-200 | DNA extraction |
FastQC software | Babraham Institute, United Kingdom | Bioinformatics | |
Fermaid O | Scott Laboratory, Petaluma, CA USA | Fermentation | |
High-Fidelity PCR Master Mix | New England Biolabs, USA | F630S | Polymerase chain reaction for sequencing |
NEBNext Ultra | New England Biolabs, USA | NEB #E7103 | DNA Library Prep |
NEBNext Ultra II DNA Library Prep Kit | Illumina, San Diego, CA USA | DNA sequencing | |
NovaSeq Control Software (NVCS) | Illumina, San Diego, CA USA | DNA sequencing | |
Novaseq6000 platform | Illumina, San Diego, CA USA | DNA sequencing | |
QuiBit | Thermoscientific, Waltham, MA, USA | DNA quantification | |
Quickdrop spectrophotometer | Molecular device, San Jose, CA, USA | DNA quantification | |
Sodium Phosphate | Sigma Aldrich | 342483 | DNA extraction buffer |
Stimula Sauvignon Blanc | Scott Laboratory, Petaluma, CA USA | Fermentation |