terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Congress on Grapevine and Wine Sciences 9 2ICGWS-2023 9 Decoupling the effects of water and heat stress on Sauvignon blanc berries

Decoupling the effects of water and heat stress on Sauvignon blanc berries

Abstract

Climate changes have important consequences in viticulture, heat waves accompanied by periods of drought are encountered more and more frequently. This study aims to evaluate the single and combined effect of water deficit and high temperatures on the thiol precursors biosynthesis in Sauvignon blanc grapes. For this purpose, a protocol has been developed for the cultivation of berries on a solid substrate. The berries, collected at three different times starting from veraison and grown in vitro, were subjected to 4 different treatments: control (C), water stress (WS), heat stress (HS), combined water and heat stress (WSHS). Water stress was simulated by adding abscisic acid to the culture medium, while different temperatures, respectively 25°C and 35°C, were managed with two illuminated climatic chambers. The expression of the main genes involved in the biosynthesis of thiol precursors, together with stress marker genes, was evaluated on the berries by qRT-PCR. Moreover, thiol precursors were analysed using an UHPLC/MS method. Results highlighted variable trends in the genes encoding GSTs (glutathione-S-transferase) and GGTs (γ-glutamyl-transferase), responsible for the synthesis of precursors. In detail, the VvGST3 gene was significantly down-regulated in thermal stresses, while HS and WSHS up-regulated the expression of VvGST2, VvGST5, VvGST25 and GGTs. Furthermore, the tested stress marker genes significantly confirm the success of both thermal and water stress conditions. The analysis of thiol precursors, showed that the concentration of Cys-3SH in the two last sampling dates well correlated with the expression of the above-mentioned genes. As opposite, a poor correlation was observed for Glut-3SH. Taken together these results allowed to identify a specific effect of heat and water stress on the regulation of the thiol precursors biosynthetic pathway in Sauvignon blanc berries during maturation.  

DOI:

Publication date: October 11, 2023

Issue: ICGWS 2023

Type: Poster

Authors

Alberto Calderan1,2, Rachele Falchi2, Riccardo Braidotti2, Giorgio Alberti2, Andreja Vanzo3 and Paolo Sivilotti2

1Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, via Licio Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, Italy
2Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Via delle     Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy
3Kmetijski Istitut Slovenje (KIS), Hacquetova ulica 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Contact the author*

Keywords

water stress, heat stress, climate change, berries culture

Tags

2ICGWS | ICGWS | ICGWS 2023 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Late pruning, an alternative for rainfed vine varieties facing new climatic conditions

In Chile there is a dry farming area known as a traditional wine region, where varieties brought by the Spanish conquerors still persist. These varieties, in general, are cultivated under traditional systems, with low use of technical and economic resources, and low profitability for their grapes and wines. In this region, as in other wine grape growing areas, climatic conditions have changed significantly in recent decades. In particular, the occurrence of spring frosts, when bud break has already begun, have generated significant losses for these growers.

Read More

Role of anthocyanins and copigmentation in flavonol solubility in red wines 

Over the last years, due to climate change, several red wines, such as the Sangiovese wines, have been often subjected to loss of clarity due to the formation of deposits of fine needle-shaped crystals. This phenomenon turned out to be due to an excess of quercetin (Q) and its glycosides (Q-Gs) in wines. These compounds are synthesized to a large extent when grapes are excessively exposed to UVB radiations in vineyards[1]. Unfortunately, it is not easy to predict the degree of Q precipitation because its solubility strongly depends on the wine and matrix composition[2].

Read More

The exploitation of Croatian grapevine genetic resources for the breeding of new resistant cultivars 

Croatian viticulture is mainly based on native grapevine varieties susceptible to various diseases and pests, which leads to unsustainable use of large amounts of pesticides. The sustainable development of viticulture in the future will only be possible by increasing the resistance of the grapevine through the development of new resistant varieties. Breeding programs have been launched in the leading wine-growing countries to develop resistant varieties possessing high-quality levels. Native cultivars from Croatia are not included in the breeding programs of other countries.

Read More

Metabolomic profiling of heat-stressed grape berries 

The projected rise in mean air temperatures together with the frequency, intensity, and length of heat waves in many wine-growing regions worldwide will deeply impact grape berry development and quality. Several studies have been conducted and a large set of molecular data was produced to better understand the impact of high temperatures on grape berry development and metabolism[1]. According to these data, it is highly likely that the metabolomic dynamics could be strongly modulated by heat stress (HS).

Read More

Inert gases persistence in wine storage tank blanketing

It is common to find tanks in the winery with wine below their capacity due to wine transfers between tanks of different capacities or the interruption of operations for periods of a few days. This situation implies the existence of an ullage space in the tank with prolonged contact with the wine causing its absorption/oxidation. Oxygen uptake from the air headspace over the wine due to differences in the partial pressure of O2 can be rapid, up to 1.5 mL of O2 per liter of wine in one hour and 100 cm2 of surface area1 and up to saturation after 4 hours.

Read More