Genetic determinants of volatile-thiol release by Saccharomyces cerevisiae during wine fermentation

Abstract

Volatile thiols, particularly 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP), make an important contribution to the aroma of wine. During wine fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae mediates the cleavage of a nonvolatile cysteinylated precursor in grape juice (Cys-4MMP) to release the volatile thiol 4MMP. Carbon-sulfur lyases are anticipated to be involved in this reaction. To establish the mechanism of 4MMP release and to develop strains that modulate its release, the effect of deleting genes encoding putative yeast carbon-sulfur lyases on the cleavage of Cys-4MMP was tested. The results led to the identification of four genes that influence the release of the volatile thiol 4MMP in a laboratory st..