Genome Sequence of the Native Apiculate Wine Yeast Hanseniaspora vineae T02/19AF

The use of novel yeast strains for winemaking improves quality and provides variety including subtle characteristic differences in fine wines. Here we report the first genome of a yeast strain native to Uruguay, Hanseniaspora vineae T02/19AF, which has been shown to positively contribute to aroma and wine quality.Fil: Giorello, Facundo M.. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Berná, Luisa. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Greif, Gonzalo. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Camesasca, Laura. Inst. de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable; UruguayFil: Salzman, Valentina. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; Uruguay. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Medina, Karina. Universidad de la Republica. Facultad de Química; UruguayFil: Robello, Carlos. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Gaggero, Carina. Inst. de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable; UruguayFil: Aguilar, Pablo S.. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Carrau, Francisco. Sección Enología; Urugua

<i>De Novo</i> Synthesis of Benzenoid Compounds by the Yeast <i>Hanseniaspora vineae</i> Increases the Flavor Diversity of Wines

Benzyl alcohol and other benzenoid-derived metabolites of particular importance in plants confer floral and fruity flavors to wines. Among the volatile aroma components in <i>Vitis vinifera</i> grape varieties, benzyl alcohol is present in its free and glycosylated forms. These compounds are considered to originate from grapes only and not from fermentative processes. We have found increased levels of benzyl alcohol in red Tannat wine compared to that in grape juice, suggesting <i>de novo</i> formation of this metabolite during vinification. In this work, we show that benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, <i>p</i>-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and <i>p</i>-hydroxybenzyl alcohol are synthesized <i>de novo</i> in the absence of grape-derived precursors by <i>Hanseniaspora vineae</i>. Levels of benzyl alcohol produced by 11 different <i>H. vineae</i> strains were 20–200 times higher than those measured in fermentations with <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> strains. These results show that <i>H. vineae</i> contributes to flavor diversity by increasing grape variety aroma concentration in a chemically defined medium. Feeding experiments with phenylalanine, tryptophan, tyrosine, <i>p</i>-aminobenzoic acid, and ammonium in an artificial medium were tested to evaluate the effect of these compounds either as precursors or as potential pathway regulators for the formation of benzenoid-derived aromas. Genomic analysis shows that the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (<i>PAL</i>) and tyrosine ammonia lyase (<i>TAL</i>) pathways, used by plants to generate benzyl alcohols from aromatic amino acids, are absent in the <i>H. vineae</i> genome. Consequently, alternative pathways derived from chorismate with mandelate as an intermediate are discussed