Exploring grapevine genetic resources in a changing climate

Abstract

Plant genetic resources have sustained human societies throughout history. Through selection and propagation, humans have shaped plant gene pools to enhance productivity, local adaptation, and diversity of products across continents. This long-term process relied on the inherent genetic variability and plasticity of plants, leaving detectable signatures in their genomes that we can now decipher, interpret, and harness.

Unlike annual crops, modern cultivated grapevines (Vitis vinifera var. vinifera) result from a unique combination of sexual reproduction and long-term vegetative propagation, with some widespread varieties attested to be more than one thousand-year-old. They are highly heterozygous, and their genomes encode information about the history of domestication, introgression, as well as their potential of response to selective pressure.

Recent research has capitalized on extensive grape genetic resources, through two approaches. Paleogenomics has compared ancient grapegenomes – recovered from archaeological excavations – with large modern germplasm collections. These studies elucidate the arrival, dispersal, and genetic evolution of grape types in Europe. In France, viticulture expanded rapidly during the early Roman period, with swiftemergence of red and white V. vinifera types bearing small or large berries, and showing both Eastern and Western ancestry. Archaeological evidence and genomic comparisons confirm early clonal propagation and long-distance exchanges during this era. Theresulting datasets enable deeper investigations into introgression patterns, rates of haplotypic change over time, and selection of adaptive gene clusters.

A second ongoing approach leverages the resources of a large network of living collections, to forecast grape adaptation to climatechange. Landscape genomics integrates genomic and geographic data to identify statistical associations between alleles and climatic variables. Models predictive of the phenotypes are constructed from the distribution of climate-associated alleles across individualgenomes, and their goodness-of-fit validated against traits observed in common-garden experiments. Genomic offset – the predicted mismatch between current genetic composition and future climatic conditions – can then be estimated, informing targeted management and breeding strategies.

Together, these advances underscore the immense value of conserving and managing our grape genetic resources heritage. Precise identification, traceability, and comprehensive characterization remain essential to support both scientific understanding and a sustainable viticulture in a changing world.

Acknowledgements

The works described here have been funded by the key-challenge Vinid’Occ (Occitanie Region and University of Montpellier, France), the FruitRescue project (BNP Paribas Foundation), and the French National Research Agency (through the Viniculture ANR-16-CE27- 0013 and MICAANR-22-CE27-0026 collaborative research projects). In addition a large network of genetic resource conservatories fromEurope, the Caucasus and West Asia contributed voluntarily, with no funding, to the project of Genetic Offset on Vitis sylvestris. We are indebted to them.