Study of the effect of native vineyard bacteria on the expression of Plasmopara viticolaeffectors

In the current viticultural context, global warming leads to advanced and possibly accelerated ripening which can alter the balance among desirable grape quality traits sought for winemaking. Evaluation of genetic material that displays delayed and/or slower ripening could uncover a potential “slow ripening” trait for incorporation into commercial varieties through breeding. In this study, we evaluated a white-fruited selection discovered in the Grape Breeding and Genetics program at E. & J. Gallo Winery that displayed an unusual ripening pattern compared to standard varieties. Vines of the slow-ripening selection did not differ in their visual appearance, water status or gas exchange characteristics compared to vines of its normal-ripening sibling.

The development and application of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas (CRISPR-associated protein) technologies have revolutionized genome editing in plants due to its simplicity, high efficiency, and versatility. As an economically important fruit crop worldwide, grapevine genome editing using CRISPR/Cas technologies has also been reported these years. Here we introduce the development briefly of the most popular CRISPR/Cas9 system and also the state-of-the-art CRISPR technologies developed so far. Moreover, we summarize CRISPR/Cas9-mediated applications for gene functional study and trait improvement in grapevine.

Infection of the grapes with Botrytis cinerea has a tremendous impact on the resulting crop yield and quality. Well-known problems that are associated with B. cinerea are specific off-flavors, poor filterability, and brownish color in white wines. The development of a B. cinerea infection strongly depends on weather conditions and is highly variable through different vintages. Typical control measures include defoliation and the use of fungicides, which involves high personnel and material costs. They also involve a great risk, especially since the effectiveness and time point of these treatments are difficult to predict.

The separation of different grape juice press fractions is an important step in the production of sparkling base wines. A complete press cycle for this style of wine is a series of pressure increases (squeezes) resulting in variations in juice composition during the press cycle. After alcoholic fermentation, wines obtained from grape juices also exhibit strong differences for numerous characteristics. Nevertheless, there is no statistical study of the impact of the press cycle on grape juices and wine colour/composition. So, the aim of this study (vintage 2018) was to investigate the changes in composition and colour parameters of Pinot noir and Pinot meunier grapes juices, as well as their corresponding wines, during the pressing cycle.

Pour prévoir et gérer chaque année les principales caractéristiques de la maturation en Champagne, le CIVC (Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne) a développé un ensemble de moyens de prévision et d’information très performants qui permettent aux différents acteurs de la filière viti-vinicole de prendre en compte ces informations à l’échelle de chaque terroir communal pour la recherche d’une qualité optimale.