The sequential or co-inoculation of grape must with non-Saccharomyces yeast species and Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeast strains has recently become a common practice in winemaking. The procedure intends to enhance unique aroma and flavor profiles of wine. The extent of the impact of non-Saccharomyces strains depends on their ability to produce biomass and to remain metabolically active for a sufficiently long period. However, mixed-culture wine fermentations tend to become rapidly dominated by S. cerevisiae, reducing or eliminating the non-Saccharomyces yeast contribution. For an efficient application of these yeasts, it is therefore essential to understand the environmental factors that modulate the population dynamics of such ecosystems. Several environmental parameters have been shown to influence population dynamics, but their specific effect remains largely uncharacterized. In this study, the population dynamics in co-fermentations of S. cerevisiae and three non-Saccharomyces yeast species: Torulaspora delbrueckii, Lachancea thermotolerans, and Metschnikowia pulcherrima, was investigated as a function of oxygen availability. In all cases, oxygen availability strongly influenced population dynamics, but clear species-dependent differences were observed. Our data show that L. thermotolerans required the least oxygen, followed by T. delbrueckii and M. pulcherrima. Distinct species-specific chemical volatile profiles correlated in all cases with increased persistence of non-Saccharomyces yeasts, in particular increases in some higher alcohols and medium chain fatty acids. The results highlight the role of oxygen in regulating the succession of yeasts during wine fermentations and suggests that more stringent aeration strategies would be necessary to support the persistence of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in real must fermentations.
Keywords: Dissolved oxygen; Mixed-culture fermentation; Non-Saccharomyces yeast; Wine fermentation; Yeast dynamics.