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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Crops Pathology and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #382324
Research Project: Resilient, Sustainable Production Strategies for Low-Input Environments

Location: Crops Pathology and Genetics Research

Title: Sources and assembly of microbial communities in vineyards as a functional component of winegrowing

Author
item GRIGGS, REID - University Of California, Davis
item Steenwerth, Kerri
item MILLS, DAVID - University Of California, Davis
item CANTU, DARIO - University Of California, Davis
item BOKULICH, NICHOLAS - Eth Zurich

Submitted to: Frontiers in Microbiology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/22/2021
Publication Date: 4/13/2021
Citation: Griggs, R.G., Steenwerth, K.L., Mills, D.A., Cantu, D., Bokulich, N.A. 2021. Sources and assembly of microbial communities in vineyards as a functional component of winegrowing. Frontiers in Microbiology. 6(12). Article e05708. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.673810.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.673810

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Microbiomes are integral to viticulture and winemaking — collectively termed winegrowing — where diverse fungi and bacteria can exert positive and negative effects on grape health and wine quality. Wine is a fermented natural product, and the vineyard serves as a key point of entry for quality-modulating microbiota, particularly in wine fermentations that are conducted without the addition of exogenous yeasts. Thus, the sources and persistence of wine-relevant microbiota in vineyards critically impact its quality. Site-specific variations in microbiota within and between vineyards may contribute to regional wine characteristics. This includes distinctions in microbiomes and microbiota at the strain level, which can contribute to wine flavor and aroma, supporting the role of microbes in the accepted notion of terroir as a biological phenomenon. Little is known about the factors driving microbial biodiversity within and between vineyards. Factors that influence annual assembly of the fruit microbiome remain unclear, even though microbiota of both fruit and must have been examined due to their potential influence on fermentations. Fruit is a seasonally ephemeral, yet annually recurrent product of vineyards, and as such, understanding the sources of microbiota in vineyards is critical to the assessment of whether or not microbial terroir persists with inter-annual stability, and is a key factor in regional wine character, as stable as the geographic distances between vineyards. This review examines the potential sources and vectors of microbiota within vineyards, general rules governing plant microbiome assembly, and how these factors combine to influence plant-microbe interactions relevant to winemaking.