Chilling Accumulation Shapes Transcriptomic Responses to Warming Exposure During Grapevine Deacclimation
1Ecophysiologie et Génomique Fonctionnelle de la Vigne (EGFV), INRAE, ISVV, Villenave d'Ornon, France.
Physiologia Plantarum
|August 6, 2026
Summary
Grapevine bud dormancy is controlled by chilling and warm temperatures. This study reveals how gene expression changes with temperature, uncovering molecular mechanisms for winter survival and bud break.
Area of Science:
- Plant Physiology
- Molecular Biology
- Agricultural Science
Background:
- Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) bud dormancy and cold hardiness are crucial for overwintering survival and yield.
- The interplay between chilling accumulation and warm temperature cues regulates these physiological transitions.
- Molecular mechanisms governing grapevine winter physiology remain largely uncharacterized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the transcriptomic landscape of grapevine dormant buds under varying chilling and warm temperature conditions.
- To identify gene expression patterns associated with chilling, warm temperature, and their interactive effects.
- To understand the molecular basis of dormancy progression and deacclimation in grapevine.
Main Methods:
- Time-series RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on 'Cabernet Sauvignon' dormant buds.
- Buds were subjected to controlled chilling accumulation and subsequent warm temperature exposure (forcing conditions).
- Weighted gene co-expression network analysis, empirical modeling, and a novel warm temperature response rate calculation were employed.
Main Results:
- Identified distinct gene expression patterns responsive to warm temperature, chilling, and their interaction.
- Warm temperature-responsive genes showed rapid, chilling-independent activation, linked to metabolism, sensing, and auxin signaling.
- Chilling-responsive genes involved chromatin remodeling and heat shock proteins, suggesting cellular reprogramming; interaction-responsive genes related to ABA/auxin metabolism and cell walls.
Conclusions:
- A transcriptomic framework demonstrates synergistic regulation of grapevine dormancy transitions by chilling and temperature.
- Findings enhance understanding of temperature sensing, response, and chilling-mediated dormancy progression in grapevine.
- Provides insights into molecular mechanisms governing grapevine winter physiology and deacclimation.
Related Concept Videos
02:45Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.
01:17Gene Regulation During Sporulation
Sporulation is a complex developmental process that allows certain Gram-positive bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis and Clostridium species, to survive extreme environmental conditions. This process is tightly regulated by a series of signaling cascades and transcriptional controls, ensuring the formation of a highly resistant endospore.Sporulation is triggered by unfavorable conditions, such as nutrient depletion, and is governed by a phosphorelay system. One of the sensor kinases, such as...
02:42Transcription Attenuation in Prokaryotes
Transcriptional attenuation occurs when RNA transcription is prematurely terminated due to the formation of a terminator mRNA hairpin structure. Bacteria use these hairpins to regulate the transcription process and control the synthesis of several amino acids including histidine, lysine, threonine, and phenylalanine. Transcription attenuation takes place in the non-coding regions of mRNA.
There are several different mechanisms used to attenuate transcription. In ribosome mediated...
There are several different mechanisms used to attenuate transcription. In ribosome mediated...
01:57Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
02:04Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
During photosynthesis, plants acquire the necessary carbon dioxide and release the produced oxygen back into the atmosphere. Openings in the epidermis of plant leaves is the site of this exchange of gasses. A single opening is called a stoma—derived from the Greek word for “mouth.” Stomata open and close in response to a variety of environmental cues.
01:10Transcription
Overview
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in the proper synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). Regulation of transcription is responsible for the differentiation of all the different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds...
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in the proper synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). Regulation of transcription is responsible for the differentiation of all the different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds...