East-West collaboration for grapevine diversity exploration and mobilization of adaptive traits for breeding: a four years story

The action aimed at establishing a collaborative partnership among the countries that share the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) gene pool with the main object to define a core collection able to represent and conserve the highest genetic diversity with the lowest number of plant accessions. The action involved 25 Cost countries and 10 non Cost countries, which represent quite all the range of the Old World viticulture. Around 250 scientists (40.6 % female; 17.5 % Early Stage Researchers (ESRs)) participated to the collaborative activities in which more than 30 institution were actively involved. Forty-four Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) were completed more than two thirds made by ESRs. An original Ampelography Book describing a large sample of elite grape cultivars selected from the native Caucasus and Black northern sea region was published and more than 100 research papers were produced (63 in the present action final publication). Networks of collaborative activities were consolidated. Concrete results involved all the objects of the action, including germplasm identification, testing of advanced genotyping methodologies, accessions phenotyping for phenology, grapes quality potential and mildew resistances; methods for association genetics; procedures for sanitary managements of collections, safe conservation and germplasm circulation. Protocols for phenotyping were released and successfully tested in a large set of grapevine germplasm collections. More than 1000 accessions were genotyped. The design of a tentative core collection referred to east European germplasm was completed

Identification and characterization of grapevine Genetic Resources maintained in Eastern European collections

Maul, E. et al.The Near East and the Caucasus regions are considered as gene and domestication centre for grapevine. In an earlier project >Conservation and Sustainable Use of Grapevine Genetic Resources in the Caucasus and Northern Black Sea Region> (2003-2007) it turned out that 2,654 accessions from autochthonous cultivars maintained by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Russian Federation and Ukraine in ten grapevine collections may belong to 1,283 cultivars. But trueness to type assessment by morphology and genetic fingerprinting still needed to be done. In COST Action FA1003 a first step in that direction was initiated. The following countries participated: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine. Mainly Vitis vinifera accessions (1098 samples) and 76 Vitis sylvestris individuals were analyzed by nine SSR-markers (VVS2, VVMD5, VVMD7, VVMD25, VVMD27, VVMD28, VVMD32, VrZag62, VrZag79). Cultivar identity confirmation/rejection was attempted for 306 genotypes/cultivars by comparison of the generated genetic profiles with international SSR-marker databases and ampelographic studies. The outcome proved unambiguously the necessity of morphologic description and photos (a) for comparison with bibliography, (b) for a clear and explicit definition of the cultivar and (c) the detection of sampling errors and misnomers. From the 1,098 analyzed accessions, 997 turned out to be indigenous to the participating countries. The remaining 101 accessions were Western European cultivars. The 997 fingerprints of indigenous accessions resulted in 658 unique profiles/cultivars. From these 353 (54 %) are only maintained in the countries of origin and 300 (46 %) unique genotypes exist only once in the Eastern European collections. For these 300 genotypes duplicate preservation needs to be initiated. In addition, the high ratio of non redundant genetic material of Eastern European origin suggests an immense unexplored diversity. Documentation of the entire information in the European Vitis Database will assist both germplasm maintenance and documentation of cultivar specific data.Joint publication of the COST Action FA1003 “East-West Collaboration for Grapevine Diversity Exploration and Mobilization of Adaptive Traits for Breeding”.Peer Reviewe

First results of the European grapevine collections' collaborative network: Validation of a standard eno-carpological phenotyping method

Rustioni, L. et al.A standard protocol for phenotyping structural and compositional aspects of the grape berry has been adopted by 18 East and West European germplasm collections during one season by testing a total of 469 accessions, including reference cultivars as well as local and minor germplasm accessions of specific interest. The protocol consists in the collection of triplicates for 26 phenotypic traits, from biological samples, each formed by 10 berries collected from 9 representative bunches from every analyzed accessions. The protocol concatenates the data from measurements and acquisitions, with the objective to generate new derived variables, which are expressed with different units (%; content per kg of grapes, per berry, per g of tissue). For each variable, the Least Significant Differences (LSD), to contrast a pair of single accession mean values, and the Confidence Intervals (CI), to estimate each single accession mean value, were computed. The application of the protocol revealed satisfactory results with high accuracy and efficiency in estimation of phenotypic traits of each accession. The whole data set will be useful for researchers, breeders and viticulturists in yield evaluation of grapevine cultivars, as well as in comparative analyses of environment-variety interaction.Joint publication of the COST Action FA1003 “East-West Collaboration for Grapevine Diversity Exploration and Mobilization of Adaptive Traits for Breeding”.Peer Reviewe

Evidence for a Sympatric Origin of Ribolla gialla, Gouais Blanc and Schiava cultivars (V. vinifera L.)

Ribolla gialla is an autochthonous grape variety cultivated in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy) and in Slovenia, and probably originated in Eastern Central Europe. Just like Ribolla gialla, the Gouais blanc and Schiava cultivars also appear to have originated in the same geographical area. To verify this hypothesis, a pool of varieties probably sharing the same historical and geographical origin were taken into account. The fingerprinting, by 35 SSR loci, of Gouais blanc, Ribolla gialla, Schiava grossa and Schiava lombarda (synonyms of Schiava bresciana), is presented and the correlation among historical, geographical and genetic information of these cultivars was investigated. Gouais blanc and Traminer, already suggested as key varieties in the development of European grape diversity and as parents for some French varieties, interestingly enough seems to be linked to Ribolla gialla. The putative parentage was verified using 58 microsatellite markers. The genetic results suggest a common geographical origin for Gouais blanc, Ribolla gialla and the Schiava group: these cultivars appear to be related through sympatric origin. The hypothesis of Ribolla gialla as a progeny of Gouais blanc and Traminer was ruled out. The data proved a second-degree relationship between Gouais blanc and Ribolla gialla and a third or more distant degree of relationships between Ribolla gialla and Traminer

Comparison between the Grape Technological Characteristics of Vitis vinifera Subsp. sylvestris and Subsp. sativa

none7siWine has been produced in Georgia since the 6th millennium BC. The processes of cultivar selection and breeding started with wild grapes Vitis vinifera L. ssp. sylvestris Gmel. and included multiple introgression events—from the wild to domestication. This article aims at improving the knowledge concerning the history of winemaking through a comparison of the Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris and subsp. sativa. Grapes of Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris were grown in an ampelographic collection and vintages 2017–2020 were analyzed. The obtained data were compared to a wider dataset available in literature concerning Vitis vinifera subsp. sativa, demonstrating the central role of grape morphology in the domestication process. This evidence suggests that the technological value of the cultivars played an important role in the selection process. In vintages 2017, 2018, and 2019, wines were produced with Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris grapes and compared with Cabernet Sauvignon and Saperavi vinifications. For all the vintages, the fermentations took shorter time for wild grape, despite the highest content of total phenols. Learning from the past, Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris might still be an interesting genetic resource for future breeding programs. Furthermore, the possible combination of wild and domesticated grapes can make possible the production of wines with long ageing, exalting their own characteristics.openMaghradze, David; Kikilashvili, Shengeli; Gotsiridze, Olan; Maghradze, Tamar; Fracassetti, Daniela; Failla, Osvaldo; Rustioni, LauraMaghradze, David; Kikilashvili, Shengeli; Gotsiridze, Olan; Maghradze, Tamar; Fracassetti, Daniela; Failla, Osvaldo; Rustioni, Laur

Analysis of agroclimatic resources for Georgian viticulture

One of the results of the “Research Project for the Study of Georgian Grapes and Wine Culture” promoted by the National Wine Agency of the Republic of Georgia was the production of a bilingual handbook for modern viticulture. The first sections of the handbook were devoted to the agrometeorological analysis of environmental resources and limitations, comprising a general analysis of Georgian climate and agrometeorological features, followed by detailed regional cards. The agrometeorological analysis of Georgia was based on daily data collected by National and International networks for the period 1974-2013. Several agrometeorological indexes were calculated in order to define resources and limitations for viticulture for each viticultural region of Georgia, providing fundamental information for grape-growing and wine-making

Proteome changes in the skin of the grape cultivar Barbera among different stages of ripening

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Grape ripening represents the third phase of the double sigmoidal curve of berry development and is characterized by deep changes in the organoleptic characteristics. In this process, the skin plays a central role in the synthesis of many compounds of interest (<it>e.g</it>. anthocyanins and aroma volatiles) and represents a fundamental protective barrier against damage by physical injuries and pathogen attacks. In order to improve the knowledge on the role of this tissue during ripening, changes in the protein expression in the skin of the red cultivar Barbera at five different stages from <it>véraison </it>to full maturation were studied by performing a comparative 2-DE analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proteomic analysis revealed that 80 spots were differentially expressed throughout berry ripening. Applying a two-way hierarchical clustering analysis to these variations, a clear difference between the first two samplings (up to 14 days after <it>véraison</it>) and the following three (from 28 to 49 days after <it>véraison</it>) emerged, thus suggesting that the most relevant changes in protein expression occurred in the first weeks of ripening. By means of LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis, 69 proteins were characterized. Many of these variations were related to proteins involved in responses to stress (38%), glycolysis and gluconeogenesis (13%), C-compounds and carbohydrate metabolism (13%) and amino acid metabolism (10%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results give new insights to the skin proteome evolution during ripening, thus underlining some interesting traits of this tissue. In this view, we observed the ripening-related induction of many enzymes involved in primary metabolism, including those of the last five steps of the glycolytic pathway, which had been described as down-regulated in previous studies performed on whole fruit. Moreover, these data emphasize the relevance of this tissue as a physical barrier exerting an important part in berry protection. In fact, the level of many proteins involved in (a)biotic stress responses remarkably changed through the five stages taken into consideration, thus suggesting that their expression may be developmentally regulated.</p

Identification of disease resistance-linked alleles in Vitis vinifera germplasm

Introgression of genetic resistance to fungal diseases from American and Asian Vitis species traditionally pursued in grape breeding programs, although facilitated by molecular tools, has an impact on wine quality that still slows down development of competitive varieties. A contribution to the genetic improvement of grapevines for resistance to pathogens may come from unexplored genetic resources of the Eurasian Vitis vinifera L. In the present study, a hundred grapevine accessions from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan were genotyped with SSR markers linked to QTLs for resistance to downy and powdery mildew, and with 21 SSR markers widely used for genetic diversity and relationship analysis. Looking at population genetic structure, Armenian and Azerbaijani accessions fell within the same cluster and were included among the Central Asian grape varieties of a homogeneous dataset, while Georgian accessions formed a separate group. Pattern of SSR alleles flanking the locus Ren1 and associated with resistance to Erysiphe necator in 'Kishmish vatkana', 'Dzhandzhal kara' and other Central Asian cultivars were found in three varieties from the Azerbaijani population that reached very high scores when assessed for PM resistance

Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus

Chemical analyses of ancient organic compounds absorbed into the pottery fabrics from sites in Georgia in the South Caucasus region, dating to the early Neolithic period (ca. 6,000-5,000 BC), provide the earliest biomolecular archaeological evidence for grape wine and viniculture from the Near East, at ca. 6,000-5,800 BC. The chemical findings are corroborated by climatic and environmental reconstruction, together with archaeobotanical evidence, including grape pollen, starch, and epidermal remains associated with a jar of similar type and date. The very large-capacity jars, some of the earliest pottery made in the Near East, probably served as combination fermentation, aging, and serving vessels. They are the most numerous pottery type at many sites comprising the so-called "Shulaveri-Shomutepe Culture" of the Neolithic period, which extends into western Azerbaijan and northern Armenia. The discovery of early sixth millennium BC grape wine in this region is crucial to the later history of wine in Europe and the rest of the world