A recent study finds that invasive European paper wasps contributed to the grape sour rot disease that degrades wine quality. The disease infested the grape with black mold and spores.
The mold and spores come along with an acidic smell similar to the vinegar, which decomposed the berry. Those are the symptoms of the grape sour rot disease that incurable that damage the wine quality. Sour rot disease is caused by insects such as fruit flies that produced ethyl acetate.
A new study from the researchers led by the Tufts University shows that European paper wasp or Polistes dominulus is also the facilitator of the grape sour rot disease. The first author of the research is a graduate from the Department of Biology in the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University, Anne Madden, Ph.D. The study is her post-doctoral research in the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University.
“The research showed that these wasps carry the polymicrobial community of sour rot, and are capable of dispersing live microorganisms when foraging," Dr. Madden said. "This suggests that wasps are playing a role, which had not been previously identified."
Paper wasps and other wasps are common to appear in the vineyard. They usually appear in the late summer to forage on grapes and other fruits high sugar contents. Wasps that are inoculated with the microorganism that caused the grape sour rot disease, Ascomycota yeasts, and filamentous fungi, spread the microorganism to the berry when they forage.
The study has been published in the Peer J journal on Wednesday, April 26. Madden and fellow researchers from University of Colorado Boulder, North Carolina State University and the University of Nebraska have uncovered the role of paper wasps in the grape sour rot disease that previously unknown. The finding has shown that aside from the fruit flies, there is another insect that contributed to the sour rot disease. Watch the explanation about rot disease in grapes below:
