GRAPE CROSS populations for Next Generation breeding

Starting date
July 1, 2017
Duration (months)
36
Departments
Biotechnology
Managers or local contacts
Bellin Diana

Our local grapevine varieties Corvina and Garganega are cultivated for the production of prestigious and world-wide recognized DOC wines, some through a post-harvest dehydration based procedure. Extensive transcriptomic and metabolomics were previously conducted to widely characterize these varieties. In the frame of breeding actions, which will be necessary to undertake in order to adapt them to climate changes or to confer biotic resistances for a more sustainable viticulture it would be important to be able to preserve/control their peculiarities to protect our wine production. Dissection of trait genetic control requires genotypic and phenotypic data, developed in cross populations for linkage analysis. NGS technologies have strongly accelerated genotyping. However the dissection of the genetic control for relevant traits still depends on the availability of phenotypic data for genetic material developed “ad hoc” from divergent parents. Therefore the final aim of the current project is the development of genotyped cross populations designed for the long term purpose of (I) dissecting the genetic basis of relevant traits for our local varieties, (II) identify new resources and their genetic basis for their improvement. Complexively it would provide an important aid in the direction of preservation of our viticulture and wine production through molecular assisted precise breeding. More in detail we will be able to prepare and genotype, by using NGS based technologies, two cross populations, Cabernet Suvignon x Corvina and Garganega x Pinot Bianco designed to dissect the genetic control of typical metabolites content at harvest, transcriptome and metabolome plasticity/stability in diverse environments, attitude to withering, trascriptomic/metabolomic rearrangements during post-harvest dehydration and phenology. Preliminary phenotypic data are expected by the end of the project. Furthermore, in the mean time additional crosses will be also planned and started

Sponsors:

Funds: assigned and managed by the department

Project participants

Diana Bellin
Associate Professor

Activities

Research facilities

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