Inhibition of malolactic fermentation by a peptide produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae during alcoholic fermentation.

The ability of Saccharomyces to inhibit Oenococcus oeni during the alcoholic fermentation by mechanisms other than SO(2) production was investigated. During fermentation in synthetic grape juice, S. cerevisiae strain RUBY.ferm inhibited the malolactic fermentation by O. oeni while strain EC1118 did not despite both strains producing similar amounts of SO(2). The bacterial inhibition exerted by RUBY.ferm was diminished when the wine was treated with proteases but not through the addition of nutrients. Wine fermented by RUBY.ferm was fractionated based on molecular weight and each fraction tested for the ability to inhibit the growth of O. oeni. The fraction containing compounds larger than 3 kDa was the sole inhibitory fraction. The inhibitory fraction was analyzed by SDS PAGE and showed a 5.9 kDa protein band present in wine fermented by RUBY.ferm that was not present in wine fermented by a non-antagonistic yeast, S. cerevisiae strain Saint Georges S101. The ability of the peptide to inhibit O. oeni seemed to be dependent on the presence of SO(2).