terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Open-GPB 9 Open-GPB-2024 9 Flash - New biotechnological tools 9 Deciphering the function and regulation of VviEPFL9 paralogs to modulate stomatal density in grapevine through New Genomic Techniques

Deciphering the function and regulation of VviEPFL9 paralogs to modulate stomatal density in grapevine through New Genomic Techniques

Abstract

Stomata are microscopic pores mainly located in leaf epidermis, allowing gas exchanges between plants and atmosphere. Stomatal initiation relies on the transcription factor SPEECHLESS which is mainly regulated by the MAP kinase cascade, in turn controlled by small signaling peptides, the Epidermal Patterning Factors (EPF and EPF-Like), namely EPF1, EPF2 and EPFL9. While EPF1 and EPF2 induce the inhibition of SPEECHLESS, their antagonist, EPFL9, stabilizes it, leading to stomatal formation. In grapevine, there are two paralogs for EPFL9, VviEPFL9-1 and VviEPFL9-2. Despite their structural similarity, it remains unclear whether they are differentially regulated and have distinct roles. In our study we showed that while VviEPFL9-1 is expressed only in the apex, VviEPFL9-2 is expressed both in the apex and in mature leaves along the plant axis and is significantly repressed by ABA. To support experimental data, an in-silico transcriptomic analysis has been carried out using publicly available datasets. In addition, both genes were functionally characterized using knock-out (KO) mutants generated via CRISPR/Cas9. Leaf stomatal density and gas exchange parameters were significantly different between ‘Sugraone’ WT plants and VviEPFL9-2 KO lines, whereas the differences were negligible between WT and VviEPFL9-1 KO lines. Moreover, a water stress experiment was carried out to deeply compare the physiology of edited lines and WT plants under drought conditions. Our results suggest that VviEPFL9 paralogs have distinct roles in determining stomatal plasticity during leaf growth, and that VviEPFL9-2 may be considered a key target to increase grapevine resilience to water deficiency.

DOI:

Publication date: June 13, 2024

Issue: Open GPB 2024

Type: Article

Authors

Umar Shahbaz1,2, Pierre Videau3, Katerina Labonova3, David Navarro-Payá4, Alvaro Vidal1,2, José Tomás Matus4, Mickael Malnoy1, Olivier Zekri3, Fabio Fiorani5, Michele Faralli2, Lorenza Dalla Costa1*

1 Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Italy
2 Center Agriculture Food Environment (C3A), University of Trento, 38098, San Michele all’Adige, Italy
3 Novatech, Mercier Groupe, Le Champ des Noels, France
4 Institute for Integrative Systems Biology, Universitat de València-CSIC,46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
5 Institute of Bio- and Geo-Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany

Contact the author*

Keywords

Vitis vinifera, Epidermal Patterning Factors, CRISPR/Cas9, gas exchange, water stress

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Open GPB | Open GPB 2024

Citation

Related articles…

Oenological potential of indigenous greek grape varieties and their clones

Vine clone selection aims at the survival of clones with particularly desireable attributes for the production of high quality wines. The purpose of this research was to study the enological potential of the clones of Greek indigenous grape varieties over two vintages, 2018 and 2019.
METHODS: Two clones of the white grape varieties Moschofilero (E26 and E27), Assyrtiko (E11 and 16), Roditis (25E16 and 02E1E21) and two clones of the red grape varieties Xinomavro (19 and E2E30) and Agiorgitiko (03E40 and 41E47) were vinified under the same protocol for the white wines and common for the red wines in 2018 and 2019. The resulting products were studied for several enological parameters such as alcohol content, volatile acidity, pH, total phenolics, anthocyanins and tannins for the red wines, as well as browning tests for the white wines. The aroma profile of these ten samples was investigated through sensory analysis with intensity rating of individual attributes on a five-point scale by a trained panel.

Full automation of oenological fermentations and its application to the processing of must containing high sugar or acetic acid concentrations

Climate change and harvest date decisions have led to the evolution of must quality over the last decades. Increases in must sugar concentrations are among the most obvious consequences, quantitatively. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a robust and acid tolerant organism. These properties, its sugar to ethanol conversion rate and ethanol tolerance make it the ideal production organism for wine fermentations. Unfortunately, high sugar concentrations may affect S. cerevisiae and lead to growth inhibition or yeast lysis, and cause sluggish or stuck fermentations. Even sublethal conditions cause a hyperosmotic stress response in S. cerevisiae which leads to increased formation of fermentation by-products, including acetic acid, which may exceed legal limits in some wines.

Application to grapevine leaves of different doses of urea at two phenology stage: effect on the aromatic composition of red wine

This research aimed to study the effect and efficiency of foliar application of urea on the aromatic composition of red wines elaborated from Tempranillo grapes.

Ethanol reduces grapevine water consumption by limiting transpiration

Studies suggest that ethanol (EtOH), triggers plant adaptation to various stresses at low concentrations (10 µM to 10 mM).

Distribution and sensory impact of new oak wood-derived compounds in wines

Despite the numerous research studies carried out in recent years, the study of wine aroma remains of great interest due to its complexity. Wine maturation in oak barrels is described as an important step in the production of quality wines. In fact, oak wood develops several aromatic nuances through its toasting which can be released into the wine. A great deal of work has been performed in order to identify the wood-derived volatile compounds that contribute to wine aroma (e.g., whisky-lactone, maltol, eugenol, guaiacol, vanillin).