Studio della produzione di 2,4,6-tricloroanisolo da parte di muffe isolate da sughero e da uve e sviluppate in presenza di 2,4,6-tricloroanisolo

Cork taint, usually perceived as a mouldy off-flavour, is one of most serious problems for the wine and cork industries because it causes financial loss every year and occasionally damages the reputation of the wine industry. 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) is considered the primary compound responsible for cork taint; its precursor is the 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP), which may be present in cork and transformed in TCA by a biomethylation process in presence of some filamentous fungi. Therefore it is important to study the ability of the fungi present on cork to perform this transformation. Some fungal strains were studied: seven of them were isolated from cork, belonging to the genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma and Chrysonilia and one, Botrytis cinerea, from grapes. All, except Chrysonilia, produced TCA, when grown directly on cork or synthetic medium in the presence of TCP, Aspergillus and Botrytis cinerea being the ones with the highest level of production. Until now there were not any data concerning the ability of Botrytis cinerea to transform TCP into TCA; this microorganism is often present on grapes and in the winery environment, so this new result can partially explain the cork taint in wine not yet bottled.