Portuguese wild grapevine genome re-sequencing (Vitis vinifera sylvestris)

Abstract

Vitis is a relevant genus worldwide. The genome of a Vitis vinifera representative (PN40024) published in 2007 boosted grapevine related studies. While this reference genome is a suitable tool for the overall studies in the field, it lacks the ability to unveil changes accumulated during V. vinifera domestication. Considering that grapevines for wine production (V. v. vinifera, hereafter vinifera) have evolved from V. v. sylvestris (hereafter sylvestris), or from a shared no-longer existing ancestor, both subspecies are quite close, but sylvestris has not been domesticated and still exist nowadays, preserving wild characteristics, making it a good material to provide insights into vinifera domestication. The difference in the reproductive strategy between both subspecies is one of the characteristics that sets them apart. While vinifera flowers are hermaphrodite with functional male and female organs, sylvestris is mostly dioecious. Male plants present flowers lacking functional carpels unable to produce grapes and female individuals have flowers with reflexed stamens producing infertile pollen but able to exhibit small and acidic grapes. In this paper, we describe the re-sequencing of the genomes from a male and a female individual of the wild sylvestris and its comparison against the reference vinifera genome.