A less popular approach to identify wine microbes enriched on various media is use
of specific nucleotide probes targeting ribosomal RNA genes. Stender, et al.
used peptide nucleic acid probes to identify the spoilage yeast, D. bruxellensis, on
enrichment plates. Recently Xufre, et al. developed 26S rRNA gene probes
for identification of numerous wine-related yeast including S. cerevisiae, C. stellata,
H. uvarum, H. guilliermondii, K. thermotolerans, K. marxianus, T. delbrueckii, Pi.
membranaefaciens and Pi. anomala. While these latter probes were fluorescently
labeled for use in direct in situ hybridization applications, the authors have only
demonstrated their utility in identifying yeast colonies post-enrichment. Others
have used more specific genomic probes to differentiate colonies of closely related
LAB species.