Proteases, grape Proteins

Contrary to expectations that fungal diseases would lead to elevated levels of PR proteins in berries, Marchal et al. (1998) observed that juice from berries infected by B. cinerea showed reduced protein levels, and suggested that proteolytic enzymes from B. cinerea were responsible for this. Secretion of proteases by B. cinerea has been observed in culture media and on fruits such as apple (Zalewska-Sobczak et al. 1981) and tomato (Brown and Adikaram 1983). Girbau et al. (2004) also examined the impact of infection of grapes with B. cinerea in the vineyard and showed that infection resulted in marked decreases in the levels of PR proteins in... 

Grape proteases are acidic, with an optimum pH near 2.0. In the pH range of must, 40-60% of the potential proteasic activity exists. Protein hydrolysis activity during the pre-fermentation phase varies greatly, depending on grape maturity and harvest treatments. This certainly affects fermentation kinetics but the relationship has never been established. A slight sulfur dioxide additiou (around 25 mg/1), however, has been confirmed to stimulate proteasic activity. This explains, at least partially, its activation effect on fermentation (Section 8.7.3). 

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