Armenia: historical origin of domesticated grapevine

Abstract

The Armenian Highlands are located on the northern border of Western Asia and stretch up to the Caucasus from the north. Throughout human history, the country has played an important role in connecting the civilizations of Europe and the Near East. A recent large-scale study about the dual domestication origin and evolution of grapes approved that in the Armenian Highlands human and grapevine stories are interlaced through centuries and roots of grapevine domestication are found deep in the Pleistocene, ending 11.5 thousand years ago. Until recently very little was known about the real magnitude of grape germplasm in Armenia. To address the gap in 2017, a nationwide program was launched to collect, conserve, and thoroughly characterize Armenian grapevine germplasm. Obtained results indicated that high genetic and morphological diversity as a source of novel alleles and genotypes is still safeguard in Armenia. A combination of genomic data, nuclear microsatellite markers and ampelography proved useful to determine the identity of collected samples recovered from old vineyards and home gardens, to analyze genetic relationships among two subspecies of Vitis vinifera, to demonstrated existence of gene flow between the wild and cultivated grapevines through overlaps and presence of admixed ancestry values.

DOI:

Publication date: November 18, 2024

Issue: OIV 2024

Type: Article

Authors

Kristine Margaryan1,2, Avag Harutyunyan3, Bella Grigoryan1, Aramais Mkrtchyan1, Frunz Harutyunyan1

1 Research Group of Plant Genomics, Institute of Molecular Biology of National Academy of Sciences RA, Yerevan 0014, Armenia
2 Research Institute of Biology, Yerevan State University, Yerevan 0025, Armenia
3 National Wine Center, Yerevan 0012, Armenia

Contact the author*

Tags

Full papers OIV 2024 | IVES Conference Series | OIV | OIV 2024

Citation

Related articles…

Modernizing wine legislation for a resilient and competitive industry: lessons from Republic of Moldova’s legal and policy reforms

The evolution of Republic of Moldova’s wine industry offers a compelling case study in how legal harmonization and institutional reform can catalyze the transformation of a national wine sector.

Energy optimization of the Charmat-Martinotti refermentation process

The european union has estimated that energy consumption for wine production is about 1,750 million kwh per year, of which 500 million kwh is attributable to italy. In recent years, Italy has emerged as the world’s leading wine producer with about 50 million hectoliters per year. About 20 percent (9.8 million hectoliters) of Italian wine is marketed after refermentation according to the Charmat-Martinotti method.

Shading nets for the adaptation to climate change: effect on vine physiology and grape quality 

Viticulture is threatened by the environmental modification caused by climate change. Higher temperatures determine an acceleration of the ripening process, which can be detrimental to wine quality. In the mediterranean area, heat waves are also increasingly frequent, with consequent blocking of the vegetative activity of the vines and increased susceptibility to sunburn damage. thus, adaptation strategies are necessary to reduce stress and improve the quality of grape production. Amongst the various techniques available, shading nets represent an interesting alternative for their effects on canopy microclimate (i.e., reduction of photosynthetic activity, improvement of water use efficiency, and slowing down in the ripening process).

Isotopes to distinguish production system in Brazilian viticulture

Organic viticulture integrates practices aimed at foresting positive relationships among, vines, soil, and climate, with a focus on sustainability, social responsibility, and environmental protection. To safeguard production integrity, regulatory bodies worldwide conduct organic certifications in accordance with relevant regulations. Considering that agriculture practices influence the nitrogen, carbon and oxygen isotope composition, the study aimed to investigate the response of these isotopes in grape must cultivated by organic, biodynamic and conventional methods to distinguish between production systems.

Grapevine genotypes with potential for reducing the carbon footprint in the atmosphere and cultivation in a biological system

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing from year to year. Taking into account the calculations of the greenhouse gas inventory, it was found that approximately 70% of CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by vegetation (forests, agricultural land, etc.).