Barbera d’Asti: the characterization of the vineyard sites

Water tolerance in plants is often associated with the accumulation of osmotic protectants, which are secondary metabolites that can help the plant to cope with water stress. One of the key osmotic protectants is a sugar called Raffinose, which is synthesized by a family of enzymes called Raffinose synthases. In this work, we focused on one of these enzymes, VviRAF2, which is a gene that shows different expression levels and genetic variants (SNPs) among different grapevine cultivars, ranging from tolerant to susceptible to water stress, and the transcription factors that may regulate the expression of this gene family.

In 2019, we have planted the red variety Manseng Noir, as it has been shown that it is the only sister of the Tannat grape. Tannat was introduced to Uruguay in 1870 from the south-western regions of France.

In the present study the connection between the positional candidate gene VvDXS and muscat flavor was evaluated by investigating the expression profiles in the berries from a Muscat-type cultivar and a neutral cultivar and its nucleotide diversity of full ORF on grapevine accessions.

Grapevine cultivars are vegetatively propagated to preserve their varietal characteristics. However, spontaneous somatic variations that occur and are maintained during cycles of vegetative growth offer opportunities for the natural improvement of traditional grape cultivars. One advantageous trait for winegrowing is reduced bunch compactness, which decreases the susceptibility to pests and fungal diseases and favor an even berry ripening.

After the onset of grape berry ripening, phloem unloading follows an apoplasmic route into the mesocarp tissue. In the apoplast, most of the unloaded sucrose is cleaved by cell wall invertases