The Douro region: wine and tourism

Winemaking generates significant amounts of by-products, such as grape pomace and wine lees, which are primarily used for distillation and composting.

Context and purpose of the study. Epidermal Patterning Factors are a family of small peptides that are highly conserved in the plant kingdom and are involved in several physiological and developmental processes.

In Spain, the wide diversity of red grapevine varieties represents an advantage when choosing the most suitable one for cultivation based on different climatic conditions, without implying a loss of their enological potential.

Climate change will increase the frequency of water deficit experienced in certain european regions, due to increased evapotranspiration and reduced rainfall during the growing cycle. We therefore need to find ways of adaption, including the use of more drought-tolerant planting material. In addition to the varieties used as grafts and involved in the wine ypicity of our wines, rootstocks selection is a relevant way of adapting to more restrictive environmental conditions.

The plant surface typically comprises of various epidermal cell types which synthesise and deposit a protective waxy layer known as the cuticle. The cuticle is a significant contributor to important crop traits related to drought tolerance, biotic stress, postharvest fruit quality as well as providing structural support. In this work we have investigated grape berry cuticle formation in the context of the accumulation of anti-fungal specialised metabolites and the ability of the cuticle to structurally cope with the rapid expansion of ripening berries. Metabolic QTL analysis was performed in a grapevine cross population, using chemical profiling data collected via GC-MS analysis for cuticular waxes.