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…

Ecodesign tools and approaches in viticulture for professionals and learners, contributions of the Vitarbae project

The agro-ecological transition in winegrowing can benefit from the environmental assessment of practices to inform producers’ technical choices. life cycle assessment (lca) evaluates the environmental impact of a product over its entire life cycle. this paper takes a look at the tools available for the detailed assessment and eco-design of winegrowing practices, their uses and developments in the vitarbae research project (2023-2026). this project aims to establish and equip support and training courses for the agroecological transition in viticulture and fruit arboriculture.

Bioprotection en phase pré-fermentaire, synthèse de 3 ans d’expérimentations dans différentes régions viticoles

With growing consumer interest in products without chemical additives, limiting the use of sulfites is a priority for the wine industry. Bioprotection is a biological alternative that avoids or reduces the risks of alterations that have a negative impact on the organoleptic quality of wines and, ultimately, on their acceptability to consumers. bioprotection can also provide a response to the risks of microbiological deviations, which are increased both by climate change and by the organization of harvesting operations, which increasingly include the use of multi-bins filled at the vine, exposing the harvest to sometimes high temperatures for longer periods of time.

The FEM grapevine crossbreeding program for resistance to the main ampelopathies: towards climate-resilient varieties

The technique of crossing, whether free or controlled, has always been a source of variability allowing the selection of new varieties with improved fitness.

Rară Neagră 2.0: prospecting, improving and safeguarding the biodiversity in an eastern european heritage grape variety

The Rară Neagră 2.0 project aims to restore and safeguard the intra-varietal diversity of the ancient Eastern European grape variety Rară Neagră through polyclonal selection and the establishment of a certified genetic conservatory.

Reduce sulfur dioxide addition using a natural polymer chitosan phytate

Most oxidation reactions in wine require iron as a catalyst. The iron content of wine has decreased greatly in recent decades due to the use of low or no release cellar materials; however, in some cases it is still necessary to adopt winemaking practices to remove excess iron from wine, prevent its oxidation, and be able to reduce the addition of sulfur dioxide and other antioxidants.