Grape genetic research in the age of pangenomes

The weather anomalies comparing the 1971-2000 time frame and the last years has showned a dramatic scenario when, in some months, average temperature in above 3ºC and the reduction in precipitation in more than 30%.

Italy, like all the major vine-growing and wine-producing countries, has experienced a decline in wine export volumes in recent years.

The appearance of the Phylloxera pest in the 19th century in Europe caused dramatical damages in grapevine diversity. To mitigate these losses, grapevine growers resorted to using crosses of different Vitis species, such as 110 Richter (110R) (V. berlandieri x V. rupestris), which has been invaluable for studying adaptations to stress responses in vineyards. Recently, a high quality chromosome scale assembly of 110R was released, but the available gene models were predicted without using as evidence transcriptional sequences obtained from roots, that are crucial organs in rootstock, and they may express certain genes exclusively. Therefore, we employed RNA sequencing reads of 110R roots under different stress conditions to predict new gene models in each haplotype of 110R under different stresses.

A two-bite compression test was applied on Cabernet franc grapes during two harvest seasons. The evolution of the texture parameters from véraison to harvest was studied and a new mechanical ripeness notion was introduced.

Aljarafe Alto est une petite zone naturelle dans le département de Séville (Espagne), où le cépage autochtone cultivé est le Palomino Garrido Fino.