Towards the definition of a detailed transcriptomic map of grape berry development

A relatively small number of the many volatile substances of wine, often present at trace
concentrations, are considered as key volatile compounds. These compounds often exist in grapes
under poorly odoriferous or non volatile forms as aroma precursors.

Root architecture (RSA), the spatial-temporal arrangement of a root system in soil, is essential for edaphic resources acquisition by the plant, and thus contributes largely to its productivity and adaptation to environmental stresses, particularly soil water deficit. In grafted grapevine, while the degree of drought tolerance induced by the rootstock has been well documented in the vineyard, information about the underlying physiological processes, particularly at the root level, is scarce, due to the inherent difficulties in observing large root systems in situ. The aims of this study were (i) to determine the phenotypic differences in traits related to root distribution and morphology along the substrate profile in different Vitis rootstocks during early growth, (ii) to assess the plasticity of these traits to soil water deficit and (iii) to quantify their relationships with plant water uptake.

Developing rootstocks adapted to environmental constraints constitutes a key lever for grapevine adaptation to climate change. In this context, Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) could be used as a high-throughput phenotyping technique to simplify the study of rootstocks in grafted situations. This study is an exploratory analysis to evaluate the potential of NIRS acquired on grafted tissues to reveal rootstock effects as well as the plasticity of combinations of scion/rootstock to better characterize these interactions.
Through the study of 25 combinations (5 scions times 5 rootstocks) in a dedicated experimental vineyard, we showed that NIRS obtained from grafted tissues capture rootstock and scion/rootstock interaction signals, up to 20% of the total variance at specific wavelengths.

Seedless table grapes are greatly appreciated for fresh and dry consumption. There is also some interest in seedless winegrapes, because the combination of lower fruit set, smaller berries with higher skin/pulp ratio and looser bunches with the absence of seeds in crushed berries, a possible source of astringent tannins, might also have favorable effects on wine quality.
The gene VviAGL11 has been shown to play a central role in stenospermocarpy in Sultanina, but the molecular bases of other sources of stenospermocarpy as well as of parthenocarpy have not been clarified yet.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate whether irrigation of Touriga Nacional in Douro Demarcated Region (DDR) can partly mitigate the negative impacts of ongoing climate change on grapevine yield and quality and its impact on plant metabolism.