Exploring plant responses through the integration of genomics and metabolomics for precision viticulture: A 3-year study on the effects of shading nets on grapevines performance and productivity

Abstract

Grapevine is one of the most world widespread fruit crops and is a valuable source for studying adaptive responses to environmental stress. Climate change is a major challenge to viticulture, increasing heat and drought stress as well as grape quality issues. Shading nets have been proposed as a promising adaptation strategy to mitigate increased temperatures, reduce evapotranspiration, and delay berry ripening.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of shading nets on physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses on Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Moscatel Galego Branco’ grown under non-irrigated conditions in the Douro Demarcated Region (DDR, Portugal) during three growing seasons (2022-2024). Predawn leaf water potential (Ψ_pd), metabolite composition (glucose + fructose, malic acid, and tartaric acid), and expression of PAL1 and CHS3 genes were assessed in shaded and unshaded grapevines.

The results demonstrated that, especially in 2022 and 2024, shading had an overall positive impact on Ψ_pd values, leading to an improvement in water stress management at high temperature and low precipitation conditions.

Metabolite analysis showed that shading affected carbohydrate and organic acids accumulation, stabilizing malic and tartaric acid contents. In 2024, gene expression analyses revealed that the PAL1 and CHS3 were upregulated, suggesting activation of defence mechanisms linked to phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis.

Overall, our results showed that the effects of shading nets resulted in improved plant water status, stabilized key metabolites, and increased the expression of stress-responsive genes, demonstrating their potential as an adaptive tool for mitigating the effects of climate change. These findings highlight the use of artificial shading as a sustainable strategy to preserve grapevine performance and berry quality, especially in white grape varieties that are highly susceptible to heat stress and sunburn.

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Acknowledgments

Research funded by National Funds by FCT – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project PTDC/ASP-HOR/1338/2021. A. Silva, L. Pereira, C. Barbosa and M. J. Oliveira were also financially supported by CoLAB VINES&WINES (Funding Program RE-C05-i02 – Missão Interface Nº 01/C05-i02/2022).