Effect of drought on grapevine wood fungal pathogen communities using a metatranscriptomics approach

Changes in the rainfall and temperature patterns affect the increase of drought periods becoming one of the major constraints to assure agricultural and crop resilience in the Mediterranean regions. Beside the adaptation of agricultural practices, also the microbial compartment associated to plants should be considered in the crop management. It is known that the microbial community change according to several factors such as soil composition, agricultural management system, plant variety and rootstock.

Global changes and sustainability challenge researchers in saving water and nutrients. The response of woody crops, which can be forced at facing more drought events during their life, is particularly important. Vitis vinifera can be an important model for its relevance in countries subjected to climate changes and its breeding, requiring cuttings plantation and strong pruning.

Climate change will increase the frequency of water deficit situation in some European regions, by the increase of the evapotranspiration and the reduction of rainfalls during the growing cycle. This requires finding ways of adaptation, including the use of plant material which is more tolerant to drought. In addition to the varieties used as scions that result in the typicality of wines, rootstocks constitute a relevant way of adaptation to more stressful environmental conditions.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease associating demyelination and axonal degeneration developing in young adults and affecting 2–3 million people worldwide. Plant polyphenols endowed with many therapeutic benefits associated with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties represent highly interesting new potential therapeutic strategies. We recently showed the safety and high efficiency of grape seed extract (GSE), a complex mixture of polyphenolics compounds comprising notably flavonoids and proanthocyanidins, in an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model of MS.

Atypical aging (ATA) is a white wine fault characterized by the appearance of notes of wet rag, acacia blossoms and naphthalene, along with the vanishing of varietal aromas. 2-aminoacetophenone (AAP) – a degradation compound of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) – is regarded as the main sensorial and chemical marker responsible for this defect. About the origin of ATA, a stress reaction occurring in the vineyard has been looked as the leading cause of this defect. Agronomic, climatic and pedological factors are the main triggers and among them, drought stress seems to play a crucial role.[1]