Financement: Alliance of International Science Organizations ANSO-CR-PP-2020-04-F

Partenariat: IB-CAS, Armenian University

Période: janvier 2021 > décembre 2023

Responsable EGFV:  Nathalie OLLAT

Coordination: Zenchang Liang IB-CAS

Résumé: 

Grapevine genetic resources play a crucial role in agricultural activities and sustainable development. They hold the key to the adaptation of plants to a changing and more variable climate. However, their diversity remains largely underused in current breeding and farming management. Conservation efforts aim to capture, preserve and make available a substantial share of these global assets. However, access to resources is often limited by the quality of the material and the information provided by the various conservation sites. Discovering the potential of traditional varieties close to extinction will allow a better response to the new challenges faced by viticulture, including climate change, the need for better use of inputs and environment conservation. With increasing concerns over biodiversity loss and genetic erosion, there is a strong need to undertake actions and to step up collaborative efforts to expand and improve the preservation as well as to unlock the breeding potential of neglected autochthonous genotypes.
Caucasus is always considered as the origin of domestication for grapevine, and grape industry plays an important role in this region. Despite its importance in Armenia, grape cultivation also occupies an important place in the history of China and France. But information about the extent and distribution of grape genetic variation in this region is limited in comparison to wild and cultivated grapevines from around the Mediterranean basin.
In this project, more than 100 wild and cultivated grape accessions will be used as test plant materials. The genomic, phenotypic and transcriptomic profiles of 100 grape accessions will be integrated by forward genetic techniques. The candidate genes for controlling adaptive trait and biotic or abiotic tolerance will be identified. The population diversity, gene flow and introgression. The results of this project will improve the understanding of grape adaptive evolution and provide new molecular markers, new genes and new plant materials for grape variety improvement in the future.
The ultimate goal of the proposed Armenian-France-China research cooperation is the promotion of grapevine genetic diversity conservation and use of the agronomic and oenological potential of prospective genotypes supporting sustainable development of vine and wine production and marketing strategy.