Assessing bunch architecture for grapevine yield forecasting by image analysis 

The Institut Français De La Vigne Et Du Vin (IFV) is conducting many experiments on innovative winegrowing practices, which are emerging in companies in the sector, or which are still at the R&D stage for agricultural suppliers. The purpose of these practices may be to reduce environmental impact, to adapt vineyards to climate change, or to achieve other technical, economic or social aims. Whatever the objective, it is necessary to verify the relevance of these new practices, and in particular their environmental relevance, i.e. That at the very least, the changes in practices do not increase the environmental impact of the technical itineraries.

Conventional molecular analyses provide bulk genomic/transcriptomic data that are unable to reveal the cellular heterogeneity and to precisely define how gene networks orchestrate organ development. We will profile gene expression and identify open chromatin regions at the individual cells level, allowing to define cell-type specific regulatory elements, developmental trajectories and transcriptional networks orchestrating organ development and function. We will perform scRNA-seq and snATAC-seq on leaf/berry protoplasts and nuclei and combine them with the leaf/berry bulk tissues obtained results, where the analysis of transcripts, chromatin accessibility, histone modification and transcription factor binding sites showed that a large fraction of phenotypic variation appears to be determined by regulatory rather than coding variation and that many variants have an organ-specific effect.

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

Vitis vinifera L. ‘Gewürztraminer’ is a historical grape variety of Alto Adige (Südtirol), Italy, which is widely grown in the area of Tramin an der Weinstraße, but is also grown globally. It produces highly aromatic wines that are strongly influenced by the terroir of the vineyard sites where they are grown. This study looked at musts and young wines from ‘Gewürztraminer’ grapes harvested in seven distinct vineyards near Tramin and then processed at Cantina di Termeno, minimizing winemaking protocol variability. Samples were profiled using bidimensional gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography coupled to electrochemical detection, and near-IR spectrometry. The data were subjected to Principle Component Analysis and Hierarchical Clustering Analysis. Sensory discriminant testing was undertaken using the sorting method with a semi-trained panel, and the data were processed using Multidimensional Scaling. Seven must/wine pairs could be distinguished based on their untargeted volatilome profiles and on sensory evaluation. As expected, there were greater differences in the volatile compounds between the wines than between the musts. The wines from vineyards 4 and 5 were nonetheless quite homogenous in terms of chemical and sensory analyses, as were the wines from vineyards 1 and 3. For the phenolic profile, differences were noted between the musts and wines of vineyards 2, 3, and 4, but the musts from vineyards 5 and 7 were similar. Sensory analysis showed the wines from vineyards 6 and 7 to be distinct from the rest. These results reinforce that the composition of ‘Gewürztraminer’ musts and wines is strongly determined by vineyard site, even in a small geographic area with high variability of the terroir (soil and microclimate), and that these differences are apparent in the flavours and aromas of the finished wines. Further confirmation would require a larger sample of wines, preferably from several vintages.

Wine viticulture, being firmly linked to the vine-terroir relationship, has always encountered significant bottlenecks to genetic innovation. Nonetheless, the development of new breeding strategies leading to the selection of stress resilient genotypes is urgent, especially in viticulture, where it would allow reducing the use of chemical treatments adopted to control fungal diseases. Genome editing represents an extremely promising breeding technique. Unfortunately, the well-known recalcitrance of several wine grape cultivars to in vitro regeneration strongly limits the exploitation of this approach, which to our knowledge has so far been developed on table grape genotypes with high regeneration potential.