Genetic structure in populations of the fungus Fomitiporia punctata associated with the esca syndrome in grapevine

Six populations of Fomitiporia punctata (Fr.) Murrill were sampled in France and Italy from vines showing symptoms of esca syndrome. Genetic variation within and among populations was studied by using 34 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. All the 192 isolates analyzed were distinguished, and the haplotypic diversity was similar in each population. The hypothesis that markers were randomly associated was not rejected for 5 populations and for the total sample. Comparison of marker frequency showed significant differences among populations for only 4 markers, indicating a low level of genetic differentiation. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) confirmed that most of the variance in RAPD banding patterns was present within populations (98.5 %). These data strongly suggest that the fungus spreads by means of airborne basidiospores and regularly outcrosses in nature. The prospected regions seem to form an epidemiological unit with a panmictic population of F. punctata. However, a very low but significant differentiation was detected between the populations in western France and those in Mediterranean locations.

Identification of stable QTLs for vegetative and reproductive traits in the microvine (Vitis vinifera L.) using the 18 K Infinium chip

UMR AGAP - équipe DAAV - Diversité, adaptation et amélioration de la vigne[b]Background[/b] [br/]The increasing temperature associated with climate change impacts grapevine phenology and development with critical effects on grape yield and composition. Plant breeding has the potential to deliver new cultivars with stable yield and quality under warmer climate conditions, but this requires the identification of stable genetic determinants. This study tested the potentialities of the microvine to boost genetics in grapevine. A mapping population of 129 microvines derived from Picovine x Ugni Blanc flb, was genotyped with the Illumina® 18 K SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) chip. Forty-three vegetative and reproductive traits were phenotyped outdoors over four cropping cycles, and a subset of 22 traits over two cropping cycles in growth rooms with two contrasted temperatures, in order to map stable QTLs (Quantitative Trait Loci). [br/][b]Results[/b] [br/]Ten stable QTLs for berry development and quality or leaf area were identified on the parental maps. A new major QTL explaining up to 44 % of total variance of berry weight was identified on chromosome 7 in Ugni Blanc flb, and co-localized with QTLs for seed number (up to 76 % total variance), major berry acids at green lag phase (up to 35 %), and other yield components (up to 25 %). In addition, a minor QTL for leaf area was found on chromosome 4 of the same parent. In contrast, only minor QTLs for berry acidity and leaf area could be found as moderately stable in Picovine. None of the transporters recently identified as mutated in low acidity apples or Cucurbits were included in the several hundreds of candidate genes underlying the above berry QTLs, which could be reduced to a few dozen candidate genes when a priori pertinent biological functions and organ specific expression were considered. [br/][b]Conclusions[/b] [br/]This study combining the use of microvine and a high throughput genotyping technology was innovative for grapevine genetics. It allowed the identification of 10 stable QTLs, including the first berry acidity QTLs reported so far in a Vitis vinifera intra-specific cross. Robustness of a set of QTLs was assessed with respect to temperature variatio

Genetic diversity, linkage disequilibrium and power of a large grapevine (Vitis vinifera L) diversity panel newly designed for association studies

UMR-AGAP Equipe DAVV (Diversité, adaptation et amélioration de la vigne) ; équipe ID (Intégration de Données)International audienceAbstractBackgroundAs for many crops, new high-quality grapevine varieties requiring less pesticide and adapted to climate change are needed. In perennial species, breeding is a long process which can be speeded up by gaining knowledge about quantitative trait loci linked to agronomic traits variation. However, due to the long juvenile period of these species, establishing numerous highly recombinant populations for high resolution mapping is both costly and time-consuming. Genome wide association studies in germplasm panels is an alternative method of choice, since it allows identifying the main quantitative trait loci with high resolution by exploiting past recombination events between cultivars. Such studies require adequate panel design to represent most of the available genetic and phenotypic diversity. Assessing linkage disequilibrium extent and panel power is also needed to determine the marker density required for association studies.ResultsStarting from the largest grapevine collection worldwide maintained in Vassal (France), we designed a diversity panel of 279 cultivars with limited relatedness, reflecting the low structuration in three genetic pools resulting from different uses (table vs wine) and geographical origin (East vs West), and including the major founders of modern cultivars. With 20 simple sequence repeat markers and five quantitative traits, we showed that our panel adequately captured most of the genetic and phenotypic diversity existing within the entire Vassal collection. To assess linkage disequilibrium extent and panel power, we genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms: 372 over four genomic regions and 129 distributed over the whole genome. Linkage disequilibrium, measured by correlation corrected for kinship, reached 0.2 for a physical distance between 9 and 458 Kb depending on genetic pool and genomic region, with varying size of linkage disequilibrium blocks. This panel achieved reasonable power to detect associations between traits with high broad-sense heritability (> 0.7) and causal loci with intermediate allelic frequency and strong effect (explaining > 10 % of total variance).ConclusionsOur association panel constitutes a new, highly valuable resource for genetic association studies in grapevine, and deserves dissemination to diverse field and greenhouse trials to gain more insight into the genetic control of many agronomic traits and their interaction with the environment

Fenologia e acúmulo térmico em videiras viníferas na região da Fronteira Oeste do Rio Grande do Sul

Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a exigência térmica, obtida por diferentes métodos de cálculo, para caracterizar a fenologia das videiras (Vitis vinifera) 'Cabernet Sauvignon', 'Tannat', 'Ruby Cabernet' e 'Merlot', cultivadas na Fronteira Oeste do Rio Grande do Sul. O desenvolvimento fenológico foi acompanhado durante cinco safras - 2005/2006 a 2009/2010. As temperaturas mínimas e máximas do ar foram coletadas diariamente e foram testados oito métodos de soma térmica: M1.1, M1.2 e M1.3, que utilizaram somente a temperatura base inferior (10°C); M2.1 e M2.2, que consideraram também a temperatura ótima de desenvolvimento de 25°C; e M3.1, M3.2 e M3.3 que, além das anteriores, utilizaram 35°C como temperatura base superior do desenvolvimento. Estes métodos foram comparados pelo erro-padrão das estimativas de soma térmica. O teste SNK foi utilizado para a comparação da exigência térmica entre as cultivares. O método M3.3 foi o que melhor simulou o desenvolvimento em 'Tannat' e 'Merlot' (1.823,1 e 1.780,8 graus-dia respectivamente). No entanto, o menor desvio foi obtido em 'Cabernet Sauvignon' e 'Ruby Cabernet', pelo método M3.1 (1.958,9 e 1.944,8 graus-dia respectivamente). Os métodos que empregaram as três temperaturas cardinais apresentaram maior precisão. 'Tannat' e 'Merlot' são as cultivares de videira que apresentam a menor exigência térmica para completar o ciclo