terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Congress on Grapevine and Wine Sciences 9 2ICGWS-2023 9 Reconstructing ancient microbial fermentation genomes from the wine residues of Herod, Roman king of Judea

Reconstructing ancient microbial fermentation genomes from the wine residues of Herod, Roman king of Judea

Abstract

The fortress of the Herodium, built towards the end of the first century BCE/ante Cristo, on the orders of Herod the Great, Roman client king of Judea, attests the expansion of Roman influence in the eastern Mediterranean. During archaeological excavations of the Herodium in 2017[1], a winery was discovered on the ground floor of the palace, with an assortment of clay vessels in situ, including large dolia – clay fermentation vessels each capable of fermenting up to 300-400 L of wine. Thanks to the recent progresses in the field of paleogenomics[2], we could analyse the organic material consistent with grape pomace at the bottom of these vessels, by extracting and sequencing the DNA using shotgun metagenomics and targeted capture, aiming for enrichment of DNA from fermentation associated microbes. After controlling for environmental and modern contamination, we successfully reconstructed and analysed the high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from a phylogenetic and functional perspective. The phylogenetic signal of these ancient fermentation bacteria confirmed both their ancient origin and their affiliation to bacteria associated with wine fermentation. Gene functional analysis of the reconstructed fermentation-associated MAGs revealed an assortment of genes typically expected in lactic acid bacteria involved in wine fermentation, as well as genes involved in the production of wine spoilage compounds, especially in species typically viewed today as less desirable bacteria. Overall, our analysis brings a new appreciation of winemaking in Roman Judea and enriches our understanding of Roman accounts of flavouring wine with different herbs and aromatics, which may have been performed in part to mask the off-flavour compounds produced by bacterial wine spoilage genes.

Acknowledgements:

Werner Siemens Foundation (PALEOBIOTECHNOLOGY, funding M.B. and C.W.) and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Balance of the Microverse, EXC 2051 #390713860, funding M.B. and C.W.)

References:

  1. Porat, R., Kalman, Y., Chachy, R., terem, shulamit, Bar-Natan, R., Ecker, A., Ben-Gedalya, T., Drori, E., & Weiss, E. (2018). Herod’s Royal Winery and Wine Storage Facility in the Outer Structure of the Mountain Palace-Fortress at Herodium. Qadmoniot (156, 106–1)
  2. Orlando, L., Allaby, R., Skoglund, P., Der Sarkissian, C., Stockhammer, P. W., Ávila-Arcos, M. C., Fu, Q., Krause, J., Willerslev, E., Stone, A. C., & Warinner, C. (2021). Ancient DNA analysis. Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 1(1), 14, DOI 10.1038/s43586-020-00011-0

DOI:

Publication date: October 3, 2023

Issue: ICGWS 2023

Type: Article

Authors

Maxime Borry1,2, Tziona Ben Gedalya3, Herodion Expedition4, Alexander Herbig1, Christina Warinner1,5,6

1Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
2Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
3Eastern R&D Center, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
4Hebrew University
5Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany
6Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

Contact the author*

Keywords

roman, herod, judea, paleogenomics, metagenomics, genome, bacteria, ancient DNA

Tags

2ICGWS | ICGWS | ICGWS 2023 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Metabolomic profiling of heat-stressed grape berries 

The projected rise in mean air temperatures together with the frequency, intensity, and length of heat waves in many wine-growing regions worldwide will deeply impact grape berry development and quality. Several studies have been conducted and a large set of molecular data was produced to better understand the impact of high temperatures on grape berry development and metabolism[1]. According to these data, it is highly likely that the metabolomic dynamics could be strongly modulated by heat stress (HS).

Read More

Decoupling the effects of water and heat stress on Sauvignon blanc berries

Climate changes have important consequences in viticulture, heat waves accompanied by periods of drought are encountered more and more frequently. This study aims to evaluate the single and combined effect of water deficit and high temperatures on the thiol precursors biosynthesis in Sauvignon blanc grapes. For this purpose, a protocol has been developed for the cultivation of berries on a solid substrate. The berries, collected at three different times starting from veraison and grown in vitro, were subjected to 4 different treatments: control (C), water stress (WS), heat stress (HS), combined water and heat stress (WSHS). Water stress was simulated by adding abscisic acid to the culture medium, while different temperatures, respectively 25°C and 35°C, were managed with two illuminated climatic chambers.

Read More

Possible methods of adaptation to the effects of climate change in the Tokaj Wine Region 

Viticulture’s adaptation to the harmful effects of climate change is globally the biggest challenge of the near future. Short, extremely intensive rainfalls and longer periods of drought are getting more frequent in the Tokaj Wine Region, where the majority of the vineyards are cultivated on steep slopes. Hence, erosion has high risk, especially when combined with the loess-based soils on about ten percent of the region. The environmentally beneficial cover crop and mulch usage can effectively reduce the risk of erosion, according to research done by the Tokaj Wine Region Research Institute of Viticulture and Oenology.

Read More

Phenolic composition profile of cv. Tempranillo wines obtained from severe shoot pruning vines under semiarid conditions

One of the limitations of vineyards in warm areas is the loss of wine quality due to higher temperatures during the grape ripening period. In order to adapt the vineyards to these new climatic conditions, a possible solution is to delay the ripening process of the grapes towards periods with milder temperatures, by means of management practices and thus improve the quality of the fruit and the wine produced. The technique of severe shoot pruning (SSP) has proven useful in achieving this objective.

Read More

Influence of polysaccharide extracts from wine by-products on the volatile composition of sparkling white wines

In the production of sparkling wines, during the second fermentation, mannoproteins are released by yeast autolysis, which affect the quality of the wines. The effect of mannoproteins has been extensively studied, and may affect aroma and foam quality. However, there are no studies on the effect of other polysaccharides such as those from grapes. Considering the large production of waste from the wine industry, it was proposed to obtain polysaccharide-rich extracts from some of these by-products[1].

Read More