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…

For a phenomenology of terroir. A consumers’ perspective

This study investigates the notion of terroir by applying a phenomenological approach, focusing on the subjective experience of consumers. We will consider how terroir is described by consumers in order to gauge their subjective viewpoint and understand their way of describing and defining this spatiality.

Unconventional methods to delve deeper into the influence of temperature and nutrition on Chardonnay wine profiles

Temperature and yeast nutrition profoundly impact wine quality and sensory attributes by modulating yeast aroma production and release during fermentation. While temperature and nitrogen’s individual effects are well-studied, their combined influence, including nutrient type and addition timing, remains underexplored. hence, this study aimed to investigate the simultaneous effects of these factors on fermentation kinetics, aroma production and sensory profile, particularly in a Chardonnay wine production selected as a quite aromatically neutral base.

Training vineyards resilience to environmental variations by managing vine water use

The challenges of the century for viticulture relate to coping with climate change and the loss of biodiversity in a downturning socio-economic context. Now more than ever, the vine and wine industry needs to be resilient to maintain and ensure a future for its heritage. An innovation of capital importance, in line with recently published research, deals with developing new methods of training our inherited and newly planted vineyards to better withstand environmental variations such as drought and heatwaves but also unevenly distributed rains and temperatures.

Volatile compounds as indicators of terroir differentiation in Moldovan Feteasca Neagra wines

This study examined volatile compounds in Feteasca Neagra wines from seven vineyards across three PGI regions in Moldova using GC-IMS.

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.