New biotechnological approaches for a comprehensive characterization of AGL11 and its molecular mechanism underlying seedlessness trait in table grape

Started in 1994, this project intends to explain quality of grapes and wines using data of soil, climate and vineyard that are currently used in field trials.

The past three decades of terrestrial remote sensing research have delivered unprecedented insights into our fundamental ability to detect, quantify, and differentiate plant disease (Gold 2021). However, much of our fundamental knowledge in this domain has come from studies in non-agricultural systems and until recently, most agricultural studies, when extant, have focused on tree crops where canopy closure and large plot and plant size facilitate stress detection at low spatial resolution. Recent engineering innovations and advancements in constellation architecture design have refined the accuracy and scalability of airborne and spaceborne sensing platforms, enabling us to monitor diverse specialty crops, including grapevine, planted in smaller, spatially varied fields.

In response to the growing demand for rapid, precise, and efficient methods of quantifying volatile compounds in alcoholic beverages, this study presents a novel approach for the determination of higher alcohols in wine, port wine, and brandy.

Botrytis cinerea Pers., the causal agent of grey mould disease, is responsible for substantial economic losses, as it causes reduction of grape and wine quality and quantity. Exploitation of antagonistic yeasts is a promising strategy for controlling grey mould incidence and limiting the usage of synthetic fungicides. In our previous studies, 119 different indigenous yeasts were screened for putative multidimensional modes of action against filamentous fungus B. cinerea [1]. The most promissing biocontrol yeast was Pichia guilliermondii ZIM624, which exhibited several anatagonistic traits (production of cell wall degrading enzymes, chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase; demonstration of in vitro inhibitory effect on B. cinerea mycelia radial growth; production of antifungal volatiles, assimilation of a broad diversity of carbon sources, contributing to its competitivnes in inhabiting grapes in nature).

Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is a common viticultural practice for wine grape production. In addition to the potential improvement of water use efficiency, the adoption of this technique favors smaller canopies with higher levels of fruit sun exposure, enhancing quality attributes associated with red wine grapes such as smaller berries with higher tannins and anthocyanins. However, these quality attributes do not necessarily transfer to white wine grapes. The goal of this project was to assess whether partial rootzone drying (PRD) is more suited than RDI to grow high-end white wine grapes in arid climates, especially aromatic varieties, using Riesling as a model.