Somatic embryogenesis and polyploidy in grapevine: morphological shoot and leaf traits variations

During red wine ageing or conservation, color and taste change and astringency tends to reduce. These changes result from reactions of flavan-3-ols and/or anthocyanins among which condensation reactions with acetaldehyde are particularly important. The full characterization of these reactions has not been fully achieved because of difficulties in extracting and separating the newly formed compounds directly from wine. Model solutions mimicking food products constitute a simplified medium for their exploration, allowing the detection of the newly formed compounds, their isolation, and their structure elucidation.

Global warming has enhanced the frequency and severity of drought events, hence calling for a better management of water resources in the vineyard and for an improvement of breeding platforms. Somatic embryogenesis (SE) (i.e. the initiation of embryos from somatic tissues) can spontaneously generate new genetic variability, which results from genetic mutations, changes in epigenetic marks, or phenotypic alterations.
This study was tailored to test whether vines in vitro regenerated through SE (i.e. somaclones), can tolerate water deprivation better than the mother plant.

This study showed that Botrytis cinerea could degrade the phenolic compounds by its enzymatic activity. It led to a diminution of skin’s anthocyanins from 20 % to 50 % and an increase level up to 40 % of individual proanthocyanins, 30 % of the %G and 25% of the %P.

The exploitation of food by-products has garnered significant attention over the past few decades, particularly within the framework of the European Green Deal.

The global wine production is continuously evolving to meet the new demands and preferences of consumers. in this evolving scenario, it’s important to determine which trends will be short-lived and which will remain over time. The promotion of healthier habits has encouraged consumers to try to find alternatives with low or no alcohol content. The challenge for the industry is to produce an alcohol-free wine that retains the familiar aromas and mouthfeel of traditional wine but without alcohol. Ethanol is the most abundant compound in wine, excluding water.