Contributions of the VitisGen2 project to grapevine breeding and genetics

The VitisGen projects (2011-2022) have improved the tools available for breeding new grapevine cultivars with regional adaptation, high quality, and disease resistance. VitisGen2 (the second project in the series) was a multi-state collaboration (USDA-Geneva, New York; University of California, Davis; USDA-Parlier, California; Cornell University; Missouri State University; University of Minnesota; South Dakota State University; Washington State University; North Dakota State University; and E&J Gallo, California) to develop improved genetic mapping technology; to identify useful DNA marker-trait associations; and to incorporate marker-assisted selection (MAS) into breeding programs. A novel genetic mapping platform (rhAmpSeq) now provides 2000 + markers that are transferable across the Vitis genus. rhAmpSeq has been used in California, New York, Missouri, and South Dakota to identify new QTL for powdery and downy mildew resistance. In addition, fruit/flower traits that would normally take years to phenotype have been associated with predictive markers accessible from seedling DNA (e.g. malate metabolism, anthocyanin acylation, bloom phenology and flower sex). Since 2011, the project has used MAS to screen thousands of grape seedlings from public breeding programs in the United States and has produced “Ren- Stack” public domain lines to enable simultaneous access to 4 or 6 powdery mildew resistance loci from single source genotypes. High-throughput phenotyping for powdery and downy mildew resistance has been revolutionized with the Blackbird automated-imaging system powered by artificial intelligence for image analysis. Affordable DNA sequencing along with phenotyping innovations are transforming grapevine breeding

Identification of QTLs for berry acid and tannin in a Vitis aestivalis-derived 'Norton'-based population

Acidity and tannins are among the grape berry quality traits that influence wine quality. Despite advantageous environmental tolerances of Vitis aestivalis-derived 'Norton', its acidity and tannin concentrations often deviate from expectations set for V. vinifera. Identification of the genetic determinants of malic acid, tartaric acid, pH, and tannin can assist in the improvement of new hybrid cultivars. For this purpose, a 'Norton' and V. vinifera 'Cabernet Sauvignon' hybrid population containing 223 individuals was used to construct a linkage map containing 384 simple sequence repeat (SSR) and 2,084 genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS)-derived single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. The resulting map was 1,441.9 cM in length with an average inter-marker distance of 0.75 cM and spanned 19 linkage groups (LGs). Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected for malic acid, tartaric acid, pH, and tannin. QTLs for malic acid (LG 8) and pH (LG 6) were observed across multiple years and explained approximately 17.7% and 18.5% of the phenotypic variation, respectively. Additionally, QTLs for tartaric acid were identified on linkage groups 1, 6, 7, 9, and 17 and tannin on LG 2 in single-year data. The QTLs for tartaric acid explained between 8.8−14.3% and tannin explained 24.7% of the phenotypic variation. The markers linked to these QTLs can be used to improve hybrid cultivar breeding through marker-assisted selection

Next Generation Mapping of Enological Traits in an F2 Interspecific Grapevine Hybrid Family

In winegrapes (Vitis spp.), fruit quality traits such as berry color, total soluble solids content (SS), malic acid content (MA), and yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) affect fermentation or wine quality, and are important traits in selecting new hybrid winegrape cultivars. Given the high genetic diversity and heterozygosity of Vitis species and their tendency to exhibit inbreeding depression, linkage map construction and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping has relied on F1 families with the use of simple sequence repeat (SSR) and other markers. This study presents the construction of a genetic map by single nucleotide polymorphisms identified through genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology in an F2 mapping family of 424 progeny derived from a cross between the wild species V. riparia Michx. and the interspecific hybrid winegrape cultivar, ‘Seyval’. The resulting map has 1449 markers spanning 2424 cM in genetic length across 19 linkage groups, covering 95% of the genome with an average distance between markers of 1.67 cM. Compared to an SSR map previously developed for this F2 family, these results represent an improved map covering a greater portion of the genome with higher marker density. The accuracy of the map was validated using the well-studied trait berry color. QTL affecting YAN, MA and SS related traits were detected. A joint MA and SS QTL spans a region with candidate genes involved in the malate metabolism pathway. We present an analytical pipeline for calling intercross GBS markers and a high-density linkage map for a large F2 family of the highly heterozygous Vitis genus. This study serves as a model for further genetic investigations of the molecular basis of additional unique characters of North American hybrid wine cultivars and to enhance the breeding process by marker-assisted selection. The GBS protocols for identifying intercross markers developed in this study can be adapted for other heterozygous species

Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Evidence synthesis to inform model-based cost-effectiveness evaluations of diagnostic tests: a methodological systematic review of health technology assessments

Background: Evaluations of diagnostic tests are challenging because of the indirect nature of their impact on patient outcomes. Model-based health economic evaluations of tests allow different types of evidence from various sources to be incorporated and enable cost-effectiveness estimates to be made beyond the duration of available study data. To parameterize a health-economic model fully, all the ways a test impacts on patient health must be quantified, including but not limited to diagnostic test accuracy. Methods: We assessed all UK NIHR HTA reports published May 2009-July 2015. Reports were included if they evaluated a diagnostic test, included a model-based health economic evaluation and included a systematic review and meta-analysis of test accuracy. From each eligible report we extracted information on the following topics: 1) what evidence aside from test accuracy was searched for and synthesised, 2) which methods were used to synthesise test accuracy evidence and how did the results inform the economic model, 3) how/whether threshold effects were explored, 4) how the potential dependency between multiple tests in a pathway was accounted for, and 5) for evaluations of tests targeted at the primary care setting, how evidence from differing healthcare settings was incorporated. Results: The bivariate or HSROC model was implemented in 20/22 reports that met all inclusion criteria. Test accuracy data for health economic modelling was obtained from meta-analyses completely in four reports, partially in fourteen reports and not at all in four reports. Only 2/7 reports that used a quantitative test gave clear threshold recommendations. All 22 reports explored the effect of uncertainty in accuracy parameters but most of those that used multiple tests did not allow for dependence between test results. 7/22 tests were potentially suitable for primary care but the majority found limited evidence on test accuracy in primary care settings. Conclusions: The uptake of appropriate meta-analysis methods for synthesising evidence on diagnostic test accuracy in UK NIHR HTAs has improved in recent years. Future research should focus on other evidence requirements for cost-effectiveness assessment, threshold effects for quantitative tests and the impact of multiple diagnostic tests

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

"Free" Doesn't Always Mean Free: Rethinking SO2 Measurements in the Winery

Cornell researchers Gavin Sacks and Patricia Howe have developed a simple, inexpensive headspace-gas detection tube method for measuring molecular SO2 in red wines in the winery.