Wild grapes of Armenia: unexplored source of genetic diversity and disease resistance.

The present study is the first in-depth research evaluating the genetic diversity and potential resistance of Armenian wild grapes utilizing DNA-based markers to understand the genetic signature of this unexplored germplasm. In the proposed research, five geographical regions with known viticultural history were explored. A total of 148 unique wild genotypes were collected and included in the study with 48 wild individuals previously collected as seed.

Dual domestications and origin of traits in grapevine evolution.

We elucidate grapevine evolution and domestication histories with 3525 cultivated and wild accessions worldwide. In the Pleistocene, harsh climate drove the separation of wild grape ecotypes caused by continuous habitat fragmentation. Then, domestication occurred concurrently about 11,000 years ago in Western Asia and the Caucasus to yield table and wine grapevines.

Genetic Diversity of Armenian Grapevine ( L.) Germplasm: Molecular Characterization and Parentage Analysis.

Armenia is an important country of origin of cultivated subsp. and wild subsp. and has played a key role in the long history of grape cultivation in the Southern Caucasus.

SOMmelier-Intuitive Visualization of the Topology of Grapevine Genome Landscapes Using Artificial Neural Networks.

Background: Whole-genome studies of vine cultivars have brought novel knowledge about the diversity, geographical relatedness, historical origin and dissemination, phenotype associations and genetic markers.

Method: We applied SOM (self-organizing maps) portrayal, a neural network-based machine learning method, to re-analyze the genome-wide Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) data of nearly eight hundred grapevine cultivars. The method generates genome-specific data landscapes.