Microbial modulation of aromatic esters in wine: Current knowledge and future prospects

Pfam is a database of protein families that currently contains 7973 entries (release 18.0). A recent development in Pfam has enabled the grouping of related families into clans. Pfam clans are described in detail, together with the new associated web pages. Improvements to the range of Pfam web tools and the first set of Pfam web services that allow programmatic access to the database and associated tools are also presented. Pfam is available on the web in the UK (), the USA (), France () and Sweden ().

Knowledge of bacterial lipolytic enzymes is increasing at a rapid and exciting rate. To obtain an overview of this industrially very important class of enzymes and their characteristics, we have collected and classified the information available from protein and nucleotide databases. Here we propose an updated and extensive classification of bacterial esterases and lipases based mainly on a comparison of their amino acid sequences and some fundamental biological properties. These new insights result in the identification of eight different families with the largest being further divided into six subfamilies. Moreover, the classification enables us to predict (1) important structural features such as residues forming the catalytic site or the presence of disulphide bonds, (2) types of secretion mechanism and requirement for lipase-specific foldases, and (3) the potential relationship to other enzyme families. This work will therefore contribute to a faster identification and to an easier characterization of novel bacterial lipolytic enzymes.

Wine is the product of complex interactions between fungi, yeasts and bacteria that commence in the vineyard and continue throughout the fermentation process until packaging. Although grape cultivar and cultivation provide the foundations of wine flavour, microorganisms, especially yeasts, impact on the subtlety and individuality of the flavour response. Consequently, it is important to identify and understand the ecological interactions that occur between the different microbial groups, species and strains. These interactions encompass yeast-yeast, yeast-filamentous fungi and yeast-bacteria responses. The surface of healthy grapes has a predominance of Aureobasidium pullulans, Metschnikowia, Hanseniaspora (Kloeckera), Cryptococcus and Rhodotorula species depending on stage of maturity. This microflora moderates the growth of spoilage and mycotoxigenic fungi on grapes, the species and strains of yeasts that contribute to alcoholic fermentation, and the bacteria that contribute to malolactic fermentation. Damaged grapes have increased populations of lactic and acetic acid bacteria that impact on yeasts during alcoholic fermentation. Alcoholic fermentation is characterised by the successional growth of various yeast species and strains, where yeast-yeast interactions determine the ecology. Through yeast-bacterial interactions, this ecology can determine progression of the malolactic fermentation, and potential growth of spoilage bacteria in the final product. The mechanisms by which one species/strain impacts on another in grape-wine ecosystems include: production of lytic enzymes, ethanol, sulphur dioxide and killer toxin/bacteriocin like peptides; nutrient depletion including removal of oxygen, and production of carbon dioxide; and release of cell autolytic components. Cell-cell communication through quorum sensing molecules needs investigation.