Séminaire IBIP – Série thématique « fruit and seed »
Les séminaires ont lieu sur le Campus Montpellier SupAgro/INRA de La Gaillarde (2, place P. Viala Montpellier)

Jeudi 7 avril 2016
Salle 108 (Cœur d’Ecole) à 14h

Grapevine in a changing environment: Impact of high temperatures on grape berries development and identification of key players of the adaptive responses

David Lecourieux
Ecophysiologie et Génomique Fonctionnelle de la Vigne, Bordeaux

Grapevine (Vitis spp.) is one of the major fruit crops worldwide, in terms of both economic value and surface of production. It is also considered as a biological model of major interest, because of its perennial nature, its genetic diversity, its rootstock/scion communication, and its permanent interaction with various biotic/abiotic stresses. These parameters greatly influence the organoleptic qualities of the fruit and the aromatic complexity of the wine. Over the last decades, many scientific advances contributed to better understand the key processes of the grape development, and especially the physiological and biological events associated with the maturation of berries. In the context of climate change, it appears now essential to decipher the molecular mechanisms elaborated by the vine and its fruits to face the fluctuation of environmental factors (temperature, light intensity, water availability, atmospheric C02, …). The collected data should help to implement appropriate strategies aimed at the production and selection of genotypes better adapted to the environment of tomorrow. In this context, the general aim of our lab is to understand and model the physiological, genetic and molecular components of the response of grapevine plant and berry composition to abiotic factors. To achieve this goal, we use interdisciplinary approaches (molecular (« omics »), functional genomics, ecophysiology, modeling and genetic approaches) applied at various levels (ranging from vineyard down to cell suspensions, through whole plants (grafted plants and fruiting cuttings) and in vitro grown berries as an intermediate level). The presentation will focus on our work aiming to study the impact of high temperatures on the development of grape berries. It will include the functional characterization of few candidate genes selected from omics data. Since the ability to produce transgenic plants is an essential prerequisite for understanding gene function and biological processes, the available tools dedicated to functional gene studies in grapevine will be also discussed.

Contact : Benoît Lacombe

Contacts IBIP :
Sabine Zimmermann
Alexandre Martiniere
Christine Granier
Chantal Baracco