In the period from July 7 to July 11, 2024, the international conference Grapevine Physiology and Biotechnology – OpenGPB 2024 was held in Logrono, La Rioja, Spain. At the conference, we presented the latest research related to the metabolism of non-Saccharomyces isolates under the title:

“Autochthonous non-Saccharomyces extra-cellular metabolism of tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine,” authored by Ana Boban, Urska Vrhovsek, Andrea Anesi, Vesna Milanović, and Irena Budić-Leto.

Our poster, which showcased the results on aromatic amino acids and their derivatives in samples of must and experimental wine of the Maraština variety, was awarded the best poster presentation at OpenGPB 2024. The indigenous yeasts isolated and identified in this project exhibit diverse metabolism that can contribute to the formation of the secondary aroma of wine. Particularly notable are the species Metschnikowia sinensis/shanxiensis and Hanseniaspora guilliermondii.

We participated in the 5th European Horticulture Congress and the symposium Viticulture & Winemaking between Tradition & Innovation, held in Bucharest from May 12th to 16th, 2024, under the support of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS).

PhD student Ana Boban had a short oral presentation titled “Impact of Autochthonous Non-Saccharomyces Yeasts on Wine Aroma Complexity”, co-authored by Ana Boban, Urska Vrhovsek, Silvia Carlin, Vesna Milanović, Jasenka Gajdoš Kljusurić, and Irena Budić-Leto.

The presentation showcased the initial results of the aromatic profile of Maraština wine, produced using different autochthonous non-Saccharomyces yeasts in sequential fermentation with Saccharomyces yeast.

The results indicate the positive influence of certain genera and strains of yeasts on increasing the concentration of volatile metabolites in the wine’s aroma.

The paper explores the impact of autochthonous microbiota on the phenolic composition of Maraština wine, as discussed in the journal Food Research International (Q1, IF=8.1). Employing a metataxonomic approach, we investigated the microbiota during spontaneous alcoholic fermentation, identifying and molecularly characterizing 95 distinct taxa at the species or genus level. Additionally, we established and validated an HPLC-UV/VIS method for identifying and quantifying 21 phenolic compounds. Through in-depth bioinformatics analysis, correlations with specific phenolic compounds in the wine were founded.

More details can be found at the following link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114072

We participated in the Reconnect science with the blue society (Blue-connect) project as part of the Europeans Night of Researchers, which took place on Semptember 29, 2023 at Prokurative in Split. We presented the research we are conducting as part of the WINE AROMAS project with the aim of popularizing science. We also showed different yeast strains and clarify role of microorganisms in alcholic fermentation closer to the interested public.

We participated at annual meeting of COST Action Plantmetals CA 19116 co-located with 1st Joint International Conference of Biochemistry of Trace Elements & 21st International Conference of Heavy Metals in Wuppertal, Germany from Sep 5 to Sep 9, 2023 with a poster presentation of the study in collaboration with scientists from the Ruđer Bošković Institute:

Budić-Leto, Irena; Boban, Ana; Smokrović, Kristina; Maltar-Strmečki, Nadica: Antioxidant activity and metal micronutrient content of Croatian wines determined by electron spin resonance spectroscopy

You Tube Video Link of the First Joint ICOBTE-ICHMET: https://youtu.be/0rwW0U0XHy4 

We have published the results of enological and enzymatic characterization of different species of non-Saccharomyces yeasts, isolated and identified at the molecular level in this project which we have stored in the Institute’s collection. This work is a continuation of the previous research on the microbiota present in the Maraština variety that we published in the journal Food Research International (2022). We achieved part of the project goals with this two publications in the aims of elucidation of the specific mechanism of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in the formation of the primary and secondary wine aroma of variety Maraština.

More details about the results can be found at the link, and free access by the journal publisher has been enabled since August 11 until October 3, 2023.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbio.2023.103033

We participated in the international conference OENO Macrowine 2023 held in Bordeaux, France from July 10 to 13, 2023. We presented the research results in two poster presentations under the titles:

Fermentation potential of indigenous non-Saccharomyces yeasts isolated from Maraština grapes of Croatian vineyards

Profiling of lipids in wines from monoculture fermentation with indigenous Metschnikowia yeast species

https://isvv-events.com/oeno-macrowine2023/

We participated in the 1st European GREEN Conference – EGC 2023, which took place from May 23 to 26 in Vodice, Croatia. We presented the newest results from sequential fermentation experiments performed with isolated non-Saccharomyces yeasts, Pichia kluyveri and Metschnikowia pulcherrima in the poster section:

Boban, A., Milanović, V., Jurun, Z., Mucalo, A., Budić-Leto, I.: Impact of native Pichia kluyveri and Metschnikowia pulcherrima on Maraština wines

GRAPE-PATH3, MYCO GRAPE and WINE AROMAS tim together at EGC-2023. 🙂

The fourth paper was published as part of the HRZZ WINE AROMAS project, and the second with the support of STSM grant funded under COST Action CA 17111 in collaboration with Research and Innovation Center – Fondazione Edmund Mach. The results of the lipid composition in the grape skin of Maraština variety obtained by a metabolic approach using the UHPLC-MS/MS method in Metabolomic Unit under supervison of our collaborator Dr Urska Vrhovsek were presented.

Boban, A.; Masuero, D.; Vrhovsek, U.; Budić-Leto, I.* Comprehensive Lipid Profile of ‘Maraština’ Grape Skins from Dalmatia. Applied Sciences 2023, 13, 6446. (Q2)

The paper is available at the link: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/11/6446

On April 28, 2023, the Institute for Adriatic Crops and Karst Reclamation participated in Science Festival under the common theme “Nature and Society”. The topic of our group’s presentation was “Grape mycobiota and its role in wine production”. PhD student Ana Boban, mag.chem. in a scientific-popular way presented part of the research that is carried out at the Institute as part of the HRZZ project WINE AROMAS. In that way, we pointed out the importance of grape mycobiota in the winemaking closer to primary and secondary school students.

See you next year!