A
major advance in plant biology : the grapevine genome is completely
sequenced
Paris, August 27, 2007
A major achievement has been reached in plant biology: the first detailed
analysis of the grapevine genome has just been published. The joint
effort carried out by scientists from Genoscope and INRA in France and
from several Universities and the Istituto di Genomica Applicata (IGA)
in Italy has produced a high-quality draft of the genome sequence of
Vitis vinifera, the first for a fruit crop, cultivated for both fruit
and beverage. The results of this analysis allow a better understanding
of plant evolution and genes involved in wine aromas. The details are
published in the online Nature paper of August 26th 2007.
The grapevine joins the other three plant species sequenced so far:
thale cress (Arabidospis thaliana), rice and poplar. The project aiming
at the characterization of the grapevine genome was launched in 2005
within a scientific cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture
in France and the Ministry of Agriculture in Italy. It is coordinated
by INRA and Genoscope in France and by CRA in Italy.
The public
release of the grapevine sequence is both a fundamental accomplishment
and a starting point for a deeper characterization of gene function.
This is crucial for a better assessment of natural variation and its
relevance to phenotypic variability, and the realization of applicative
projects, aimed for instance at the development of grapevine resistant
to diseases. This in turn will contribute to the much-needed reduction
of fungicide and pesticide treatments and the development of a more
sustainable agriculture.
The inbred
line selected for the project, derived from Pinot Noir, was obtained
at the INRA Research Centre of Colmar. The choice of this line allowed
the French-Italian public consortium to obtain a very high quality sequence
of approximately 480 million base-pairs, which unveiled some of the
secrets of the constitution of the grapevine genome. The sequencing
operation began in December 2005. Genoscope (Paris, France), IGA (Udine,
Italy) and CRIBI (Padova, Italy) produced more than 6 million short
genome fragments and the resources and expertise of all the partners
(including Genoscope and INRA for France) were mobilized to analyse
the sequence obtained.
Major results
to understand the evolution of flowering plants
The comparative
analysis of the grapevine genome and those of rice, poplar and Arabidopsis,
has revealed the ancestral nature of the grapevine genome in comparison
to the other plant species and has allowed researchers to get a glimpse
of how a plant genome looked like in the progenitor of flowering plants.
Towards
a better understanding of aromas in wines
A striking
feature of the grapevine gene content is the existence of large families
of genes related to wine flavour, which have a very high gene copy number.
This is the case, for instance, for the genes coding for stilbene synthase,
an enzyme which drives the synthesis of resveratrol, the compound responsible
for the health benefits associated to a moderate consumption of wine.
A similar situation is found for genes coding for enzymes involved in
the synthesis of terpens and tannins, the major components of aromas,
resins and essential oils.
The grapevine
sequence is fully accessible to the world scientific community through
public databases. The French-Italian public consortium has been offering
complete access to its sequencing results since October 2006 through
three public websites* whose browsers are intensively accessed by scientists
worldwide.
This project
was financed by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research,
the Consortium National de Recherche en Génomique, the Agence
Nationale de la Recherche, INRA, the Italian Ministry of Agriculture
(VIGNA-CRA), and Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia together with
a consortium of private companies and banks (IGA).
Notes :
*The French-Italian public consortium has been offering complete access
to its sequencing results since October 2006 through three public websites:
Genoscope : Consult the web site, Vitis genome : Consult the web site
and Genomics : Consult the web site
References
:
“The grapevine genome sequence suggests ancestral hexaploidization in
major angiosperm phyla”
Nature advance online publication 26 August 2007 | doi:10.1038/nature06148
