Physiological and transcriptomic characterization of cold acclimation in endodormant grapevine under different...

Area of Science:

• Plant Physiology
• Molecular Biology
• Climate Change Adaptation

Background:

• Grapevine survival in cool climates depends on cold acclimation and freezing tolerance development.
• Climate change causes temperature fluctuations, disrupting dormancy and threatening the wine industry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how different temperature regimes affect cold acclimation in grapevine buds.
• To identify molecular mechanisms underlying temperature-induced acclimation in endodormant buds.

Main Methods:

• Controlled environment experiments with varying temperature regimes (constant vs. cycling).
• Physiological assessment of freezing tolerance.
• RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) for transcriptomic analysis of endodormant buds.

Main Results:

• Constant temperatures (warm, moderate, or cool) did not induce cold acclimation.
• Temperature cycling (7±5°C) significantly increased freezing tolerance by 5°C.
• Identified potential roles for ethylene, carbohydrate metabolism, and protein metabolism in acclimation.

Conclusions:

• Temperature cycling is critical for triggering cold acclimation in grapevine buds.
• Understanding the genetic basis of cold acclimation is vital for grapevine resilience to climate change.
• Further research is needed to generalize findings across grapevine tissues and phenological stages.