Molecular Screening of Wine Lactic Acid Bacteria Degrading Hydroxycinnamic Acids

The potential to produce volatile phenols from hydroxycinnamic acids was investigated for lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Spanish grape must and wine. A PCR assay was developed for the detection of LAB that potentially produce volatile phenols. Synthetic degenerate oligonucleotides for the specific detection of the pdc gene encoding a phenolic acid decarboxylase were designed. The pdc PCR assay amplifies a 321 bp DNA fragment from phenolic acid decarboxylase. The pdc PCR method was applied to 85 strains belonging to the 6 main wine LAB species. Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis, and Pediococcus pentosaceus strains produce a positive response in the pdc PCR assay, whereas Oenococcus oeni, Lactobacillus hilgardii, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides strains did not produce the expected PCR product. The production of vinyl and ethyl derivatives from hydroxycinnamic acids in culture media was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. A relationship was found between pdc PCR amplification and volatile phenol production, so that the LAB strains that gave a positive pdc PCR response produce volatile phenols, whereas strains that did not produce a PCR amplicon did not produce volatile phenols. The proposed method could be useful for a preliminary identification of LAB strains able to produce volatile phenols in wine.