Studio dell’ambiente viticolo attraverso la parametrazione (punto di incrocio) delle curve di maturazione delle uve (pinot nero, oltrepo’ pavese pv italia settentrionale – 45° parallelo Nord)

Caffeic acid (CA) is an antioxidant of great importance in the food sector, such as wine, where it acts as a marker of wine ageing, as well as in the health sector due to its antioxidant properties and beneficial effects including the prevention of inflammation, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and diabetes.

The postharvest dehydration of grapes is a traditional practice to obtain wines with unique traits (e.g., sweet, dry/reinforced).

Over the past two decades, climate change has contributed to an increase in sugar content in grape must, and consequently, in the ethanol levels of wines.

Among all pathologies that afflict grapevine, Downy Mildew (DM) is the most important. Generally controlled using Copper (Cu), recently European Commission confirmed its usage but limiting the maximum amount to 28 Kg per hectare in 7 years (Reg. EU 2018/1981).

The quality of wine is assessed, among other things, by its color, which is mainly due to its anthocyanin content. These pigments are polyphenols that give red, purple and blue hues depending on the relative proportion of anthocyanins produced by the action of flavonoid 3’5′ hydroxylase (delphinidin-3-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, malvidin-3-glucoside) or flavonoid 3′ hydroxylase (cyanidin-3-glucoside, peonidin-3-glucoside). To study the genes involved in this biosynthetic pathway, we focused on Vitis vinifera cv. Tannat, known for producing wines with higher anthocyanin content and darker purple color compared to most red grape varieties. In this work, we have performed RNA-Seq analysis of skins during berry development, taking green and red berries at 50% veraison as separate samples, as an experimental strategy to focus on the differential expression of genes of interest.