Grapevine Genome Mapped
6 May 2008 Italian and French researchers have successfully mapped the grapevine genome, according to a report from the US Dept. of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA-FAS). The two countries signed an agreement in Paris in August 2005 to conduct the joint research program, which had the goals of boosting the quality of wines and protecting grapevines from pests, making them better for consumers’ health.
The results of the project were published in the August 2007 edition of the magazine Nature. The project involved researchers from various Italian universities working under a national consortium and the Institute for Applied Genomics (IGA). The French researchers came from the National Genoscope Center and the Institute National per Recherche Agronomique (National Institute for Agronomic Research). According to project chief Enrico Pe’ of the University of Milan, the scheme did not involve genetically modified organisms.
Other goals of the project were to increase the grapevine’s tolerance of salty and dry conditions to expand grapes’ geographical scale; to produce stronger vines, reducing pruning requirements and loss due to extreme weather conditions; and to delve into the mechanisms of plant reproduction.
The European wine industry is currently undergoing a full-scale reform of the common wine market to revamp what has become an struggling sector. World wine retail sales are expected to increase over the next decade, with most of the growth expected for wine selling at more than US $5 per bottle. Therefore, improving the quality of wine is seen as essential by European wine makers in order to stay competitive.
Results of the study can be viewed at the following web sites:
www.vitisgenome.it
www.appliedgenomics.org
www.genoscope.cns.fr/vitis
Get The Newsletter Today!
