International Grape Genome Program

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The International Grape Genomics Program (IGGP) is a collaborative

genome sequence of the grapevine Vitis vinifera. It is a multinational project involving research centers in Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Spain, and the United States
.

The project was established on the premise that whereas the Vitis family provides the world's most economically important fruit, its biology is still poorly understood. Many centuries of viticulture have provided many well-informed wine-producing centres throughout the world, yet exactly how a grapevine plant responds and interacts with the physical environment and deals with abiotic stresses, pests and diseases is currently unknown.

Agricultural technology surrounding Vitis has been traditionally based upon specific genotypes, which in the main have relied on "vegetative multiplication" and control of growing conditions to improve quality and yield. While advances in quality have certainly been achieved, it has involved increased costs and is in danger of incurring unsustainable environmental overheads. The argument is that the relatively unknown biology of Vitis is capable of delivering desired viticultural improvements without the associated ongoing costs, and establishing its genome sequence will examine the role individual genes play in viticulture, improving grape characteristics and quality in a predictable way.[1]

Initial discoveries

As of March 2007, the project has mapped over half of the grapevine genome. In the course of their research, the

genes
, VvMYBA1 and VvMYBA2, in a red grape parent.

Most grapevine cultivars can be divided into two groups – red and white – based on the presence or absence of

frameshift mutation. Tests showed that either mutation removes the ability of the regulator to switch on anthocyanin biosynthesis, and when both are switched off it results in a white cultivar. Sequence analyses of the VvMYBA2 gene confirmed that all of the 55 white cultivars tested contained the white berry allele, but not red berry alleles – and all displayed exactly the same double mutation, pointing to a single, common ancestor.[2] Assuming this to be true of all white cultivars, without this single parent vine there would be no white grapes today. White wine residues discovered in ancient Egyptian pottery remains suggest that this mutation occurred at least three thousand years ago,[3]
although in lieu of testing against a known white grape genome, the possibility remains that the mutation could have occurred more recently.

A similar dual mutation occurred during the last decade. Viticultor Jesús Galilea Esteban, of the vineyard Murillo de Rio Leza in

D.O. and the first hectare of white Tempranillo was planted in the region in the year 2000. Both white and red vines share identical leaves, clusters and berry shape, as well as the short ripening cycles and sensitivity to pests and diseases typical of the red Tempranillo. The mutation is thought to have occurred as a result of environmental factors.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "International Grape Genome Program".
  2. PMID 17316172
    .
  3. ^ "First white wine was a happy accident". Archived from the original on May 21, 2007.
  4. ^ González, Rosa María. "Tempranillo en blanco y negro". Vinos al Mundo.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
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