1. Microbial diversity in sherry wine biofilms and surrounding mites.
- Author
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Carbonero-Pacheco, Juan, Rey, María-Dolores, Moreno-García, Jaime, Moreno, Juan, García-Martínez, Teresa, and Mauricio, Juan Carlos
- Subjects
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SHERRY , *MICROBIAL diversity , *MITES , *BIOFILMS , *GENE amplification , *WINE aging - Abstract
Sherry wines are film wines produced in the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Montilla-Moriles regions in southern Spain which require an aging process under flor biofilms, known as "biological aging". The presence of mites in Sherry wine wineries has been reported and associated with improved wine volatile properties. This work analyzes the microbial diversity in flor biofilms and mites in Sherry wine wineries using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) and ITS/gene amplification. Two mite species, Carpoglyphus lactis and Tyrophagus putrescentiae , were spotted in the sampled winery and 32 microorganism species were identified in their exoskeleton or surrounding biofilms. To our knowledge, 26 of these species were never described before in sherry wine environments. We hypothesized that mites feed on the flor biofilms as well as another type of biofilm located in barrel cracks, known by winemakers as "natas" (cream in English). These non-studied biofilms showed the highest microbiome diversity among all samples (followed by C. lactis spotted nearby) thus, representing a niche of microorganisms with potential biotechnological interest. Besides mites, Drosophila flies were spotted in the sampling areas. The role of flies and mites as vectors that transport microorganisms among different niches (i.e., flor biofilms and natas) is discussed. • 32 microorganism species were identified, 26 not described before in Sherry wineries. • "Natas" biofilm formed by multiple microorganisms, is described for the first time. • Mites may act as microorganism vectors between different winery environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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