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This project will first aim to identify the network involved the sulphur metabolism in yeast and to assess the relative contribution of these different pathways to the formation of volatile sulphur compounds. The second key point will be to investigate the incidence of environmental factors relevant for the winemaking process, as temperature, availability of nitrogen and sulphur sources, nutrients additions on the distribution of fluxes through the sulphur metabolic network and on the production of S-molecules. This generated knowledge will allow, at the end of the project, to design and validate strategies of fermentation management to reduce the synthesis of these off-flavours during wine fermentation.

This project will rely on dedicated tools to investigate the activity of yeasts during alcoholic fermentation - on-line monitoring of the production of CO₂ and volatile molecules, robot-assisted system for high throughput fermentations, combined with cutting-edge methodologies for the analytical determination of sulphur and volatile molecules and the quantitative analysis of fluxes distribution through metabolic networks. These approaches will be first implemented to provide a detailed understanding of regulation of the formation of sulphur compounds by environmental parameters during fermentation in a chemically defined “wine”-medium. Then, from this knowledge, we will define strategies aiming at controlling the production of sulphur compounds by yeasts. Finally, these control strategies will be assessed and validated at a pilot-scale, using natural grape juice.

• Période : 01/04/2018 au 01/04/2021
• Directrice de thèse : Carole Camarasa (INRAE Montpellier, UMR SPO)
• Co-encadrant : Vincent Farines (Université Montpellier, UMR SPO)
• Contact : rafael.jimenez-lorenzo@inrae.fr