Functional characterisation of genetic elements regulating bunch morphology in grapevine

Studies on wineomics (wine’s metabolome) have increased considerably over the last two decades. Wine results from many environmental, human and biological factors leading to a specific metabolome for each terroir. NMR metabolomics is a particularly effective tool for studying the metabolome since it allows the rapid and simultaneous detection of major compounds from several chemical families.1 Quantitative NMR has already proven its effectiveness in monitoring the authenticity of still wines.

Trichoderma is a microorganism present in many agricultural soils and some of its species could be used as natural biological control agents. In this work, the presence of natural populations of Trichoderma was estimated in soil vineyard and its biocontrol capacity against Phaeoacremonium minimum, one of the main agent causals of grapevine trunk diseases instead of using pesticides. Moreover, physicochemical variables in soil such as pH, organic matter and nutrients were evaluated to determine a possible correlation to natural populations of Trichoderma.

The use of medium chain fatty acids for arresting the fermentation and producing sweet wines was investigated at industrial level. Doses of 10 mg/l of octanoic or decanoic acid and a combination of 5+5 mg/l octanoic and decanoic acid were used to produce sweet wines of tamaioasa romanească variety in volumes of 3000 l.

Ecological resources represent vegetation factors, or even production factors, in quantitative expression. These, used by plants, transformed and organized according to their genetic program, become the material components of biomass. Subsequently, the ecological resources can be used as synthetic indicators of the ecological supply, necessary for the analysis of favorability for the understanding of ecosystems.

This study evaluated the levels of trans-resveratrol in commercial wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from different valleys of Chile stilbenes. The Cabernet Sauvignon is the most planted variety in Chile, being 38% of the total vineyard country. Chile is the fourth largest wine exporter in the world, so it is important to evaluate the Cabernet-Sauvignon wines in their concentration levels of trans-resveratrol and its relation to the benefits provided to human health in moderate consumption. Evaluation comprises commercial wines from different valleys of Chile and its relationship with climatic characteristics, soil and vineyard handling.