Modeling budbreak precocity in grapevine: insights from comparative gene expression analysis in single-node cuttings

Area of Science:

• Plant science
• Molecular biology
• Agricultural science

Background:

• Global warming accelerates grapevine budbreak, increasing frost damage risk.
• Studying grapevine dormancy is challenging due to environmental factors and time constraints in field monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate grapevine dormancy using single-node cuttings.
• To identify cultivar-specific molecular and physiological processes regulating budbreak timing.
• To explore the roles of abscisic acid (ABA) and VviFT in dormancy release.

Main Methods:

• Utilized single-node cuttings from Chardonnay (early budbreak) and Cabernet Sauvignon (late budbreak) grapevine cultivars.
• Employed visual phenotyping and differential thermal analysis for dormancy assessment.
• Analyzed gene expression patterns, including specific Gene Ontology (GO) categories and the VviFT gene.

Main Results:

• Confirmed distinct dormancy release paces between Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Identified cultivar-specific expression patterns in shared molecular processes.
• VviFT gene expression correlated with budbreak timing shifts.
• Reaffirmed ABA's inhibitory role in growth resumption.
• Identified VviSVP2 and VviDRM1 as potential dormancy repressors.

Conclusions:

• Single-node cuttings are effective for studying grapevine budbreak and dormancy.
• Cultivar-specific regulation of shared molecular processes influences budbreak timing.
• ABA and VviFT are crucial for regulating grapevine budbreak timing.