terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Selection of beneficial endophytes from Sicilian grapevine germplasm 

Selection of beneficial endophytes from Sicilian grapevine germplasm 

Abstract

The recent expansion of arid areas due to climate change is putting grapevine and the other traditional productions at risk in all Mediterranean countries with a limited availability of fundamental resources such as water. It is possible to improve the resilience of vineyards by developing sustainable agricultural practices based on biological and natural resources such as endophytic microorganisms that colonize inner plant tissues, and which can potentially increase the tolerance to abiotic stresses. A selection of grapevine endophytes was conducted from 2021 to 2023 as part of the PRIMA project PROSIT. In particular, the research aimed to select consortia of endophytic bacteria and/or fungi able to improve the grapevine tolerance to drought. To this aim, vine leaves were harvested during two vegetative seasons, from local varieties subjected to a long-lasting adaptation to arid conditions without regular irrigation. A wide diversity of genera and species belonging to different microbial phyla was isolated on artificial media (NA and PDA) from surface-sterilized grapevine leaves. Selected fungal and bacterial isolates were identified by molecular barcoding based on ITS and 16S rDNA sequences, respectively. Overall, bacterial endophytes were isolated in higher numbers than fungal ones. In 2022, a higher abundance of fungal colonies was isolated at the end of the growing season, suggesting a seasonal dynamic of the microbiota composition. Some of the selected isolates belong to species already known as PGP endophytes of crops, including grapevine. Preliminary in vitro experiments confirmed that those strains can increase the concentration of auxins, ammonium and soluble phosphate.

DOI:

Publication date: June 13, 2024

Issue: Open GPB 2024

Type: Poster

Authors

Dalila Crucitti1*, Irene Doro2, Michela Zottini2, Alessandra Tondello3, Andrea Squartini3, Roberto De Michele1, Francesco Carimi1, Davide Pacifico1

1 IBBR CNR – Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo
2 Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Padova, via U. Bassi 58b, 35131 Padova, Italy
3 Department of Agronomy, Animals, Food, Natural Resources, and Environment, DAFNAE Università degli Studi di Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy

Contact the author*

Keywords

drought stress, culturable endophytes, bacteria, fungi

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Open GPB | Open GPB 2024

Citation

Related articles…

Towards faultless Grenache wines: impact of climate and maturity

Climate change is affecting wine production and inducing significant variability in wine composition between vintages.

Elevational range shifts of mountain vineyards: Recent dynamics in response to a warming climate

Increasing temperatures worldwide are expected to cause a change in spatial distribution of plant species along elevational gradients and there are already observable shifts to higher elevations as a consequence of climate change for many species. Not only naturally growing plants, but also agricultural cultivations are subject to the effects of climate change, as the type of cultivation and the economic viability depends largely on the prevailing climatic conditions. A shift to higher elevations therefore represents a viable adaptation strategy to climate change, as higher elevations are characterized by lower temperatures. This is especially important in the case of viticulture because a certain wine-style can only be achieved under very specific climatic conditions. Although there are several studies investigating climatic suitability within winegrowing regions or longitudinal shifts of winegrowing areas, little is known about how fast vineyards move to higher elevations, which may represent a viable strategy for winegrowers to maintain growing conditions and thus wine-style, despite the effects of climate change. We therefore investigated the change in the spatial distribution of vineyards along an elevational gradient over the past 20 years in the mountainous wine-growing region of Alto Adige (Italy). A dataset containing information about location and planting year of more than 26000 vineyard parcels and 30 varieties was used to perform this analysis. Preliminary results suggest that there has been a shift to higher elevations for vineyards in general (from formerly 700m to currently 850 m a.s.l., with extreme sites reaching 1200 m a.s.l.), but also that this development has not been uniform across different varieties and products (i.e. vitis vinifera vs hybrid varieties and still vssparkling wines). This is important for climate change adaptation as well as for rural development. Mountain areas, especially at mid to high elevations, are often characterized by severe land abandonment which can be avoided to some degree if economically viable and sustainable land management strategies are available.

Aromas of Riesling wine: impact of bottling and storage conditions

Storage temperature and bottling parameters are among the most important factors, which influence the development of wine after bottling. It is well studied that higher storage temperatures speed up chemical reactions and results in faster wine aging [1,2]. It is also known that higher SO2 level and lower oxygen content provide better protection and longer shelf-life for the wine. At the same time, the mechanisms of chemical transformations of wine aromas during the aging process are not fully understood. In particular, how oxidation reactions contribute to the transformations of varietal aroma compounds.In the present study [3], we investigated the development of Riesling wine depending on a series of bottling conditions, which differed in the free SO2 level in wine (low—13 mg/L, medium—24 mg/L, high—36 mg/L), CO2 treatment of the headspace.

Classification of the wine-growing environment of Central Mancha (Spain). First works

This paper describes a zoning study performed on a vast territory of around 86,500 hectares, situated in the countryside area of La Mancha Central (Castilla-La Mancha). The aim of the study was to classify the environment according to a small number of ecological criteria, establish the relevant territorial units and generate thematic maps with the different levels of criteria employed and synthetic maps by crossing these criteria.

Is early defoliation a sustainable management practice for mediterranean vineyards? Case studies at the portuguese lisbon winegrowing region

Context and purpose of the study ‐ Recently early defoliation (ED) has been tested in several high‐ yielding grapevine varieties and sites aiming at reducing cluster compactness and hence, regulating yield and susceptibility to botrytis bunch rot infection. The reported results have been generally positive, encouraging growers to use this canopy management technique as an alternative for replacing the conventional time‐consuming cluster thinning and, simultaneously, as a sustainable practice to reduce the use of fungicides. However, ED increases berry sunburn risks and/or can induce carry‐over effects on vigor and node fruitfulness as shown in the two case studies reported in this work.