Research goals
The research activity of our group focuses on the following research lines:
- The study of antimicrobial activities (bacteriocins) produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and their applications in winemaking.
- The study of other natural bioactives, such as polyphenols from Vitis vinifera, against bacterial growth, and their applications in winemaking and the agri-food industry .
- Characterizing and studying indigenous LAB strains for winemaking.
- Microbial biodiversity and vineyard soil microbiota.
- Methods in Biotechnology for microbial control of fermented products (wine, vinegar).
Highlighted publications
Fernández-Pérez R., Tenorio Rodríguez C., Ruiz-Larrea F. 2019. Fluorescence microscopy to monitor wine malolactic fermentation. Food Chemistry. 274:228-233. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.08.088.
Fernández-Pérez R., Sáenz Y., Rojo-Bezares B., Zarazaga M., Rodríguez J.M., Torres C., Tenorio C., Ruiz-Larrea F. 2018. Production and antimicrobial activity of nisin under enological conditions. Frontiers in Microbiology 257:41-48. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2017.05.017.
Fernández-Pérez R., Tenorio C., Ruiz-Larrea F. 2018. Effect of wine polyphenol extracts on the growth of Escherichia coli. In: Exploring Microorganisms. Recent advances in Applied Microbiology (ISBN: 978-1-62734-623-8). Brown Walker Press / Universal Publishers, Inc. Irvine, CA (USA).
Díez L., Solopova A., Fernández-Pérez R., González M., Tenorio C., Kuipers O.P., Ruiz-Larrea F. 2017. Transcriptome analysis shows activation of the arginine deiminase pathway in Lactococcus lactis as a response to ethanol stress. International Journal of Food Microbiology 257:41-48. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2017.05.017.
Fratebianchi, D., Gonzalez, M., Tenorio, C., Cavalitto, S.F., Ruiz-Larrea, F. 2017. Characterization and winemaking application of a novel pectin-degrading enzyme complex from Aspergillus sojae ATCC 20235. Vitis - Journal of Grapevine Research 56 (2): 85-93. doi: 10.5073/vitis.2017.56.85-93.
Portugal C., Pinto L., Ribeiro M., Tenorio C., Igrejas G., Ruiz-Larrea F. 2015. Potential spoilage yeasts in winery environments: Characterization and proteomic analysis of Trigonopsis cantarellii. International Journal of Food Microbiology 210: 113-120. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.06.005.
Portugal C. B., Sáenz Y., Rojo-Bezares B., Zarazaga M., Torres C., Cacho J., Ruiz-Larrea F. 2014. Brettanomyces susceptibility to antimicrobial agents used in winemaking: in vitro and practical approaches. European Food Research and Technology 238 (4): 641-652. doi: 10.1007/s00217-013-2143-2.