Using Cultured Berries to Unravel the Effects of Heat- and ABA-Induced Stress on Thiol Precursor Biosynthesis in Sauvignon Blanc.

Global warming, heat waves, and seasonal drought pose serious threats to crops, such as grapevine, that are valued for their secondary metabolites, which are of primary importance for the wine industry. Discriminating the effects of distinct environmental factors in the open field is challenging. In the present study, cultured berries of Sauvignon Blanc were exposed to individual and combined stress factors to investigate the effects on the biosynthesis of the thiol precursors.

Multi-hormonal analysis and aquaporins regulation reveal new insights on drought tolerance in grapevine.

Disentangling the factors that foster the tolerance to water stress in plants could provide great benefits to crop productions. In a two-year experiment, two new PIWI (fungus resistant) grapevine varieties, namely Merlot Kanthus and Sauvignon Kretos (Vitis hybrids), grown in the field, were subjected to two different water regimes: weekly irrigated (IR) or not irrigated (NIR) for two months during the summer. The two varieties exhibited large differences in terms of performance under water-limiting conditions.

Best Procedures for Leaf and Stem Water Potential Measurements in Grapevine: Cultivar and Water Status Matter.

The pressure chamber is the most used tool for plant water status monitoring. However, species/cultivar and seasonal effects on protocols for reliable water potential determination have not been properly tested. In four grapevine cultivars and two times of the season (early season, Es; late season, Ls, under moderate drought), we assessed the maximum sample storage time before leaf water potential (Ψ) measurements and the minimum equilibration time for stem water potential (Ψ) determination, taking 24 h leaf cover as control.

Untargeted lipidomic profiling of grapes highlights the importance of modified lipid species beyond the traditional compound classes.

The aim of this paper is to provide a detailed characterisation of grape lipidome. To achieve this objective, it starts by describing a pipeline implemented in R software to allow the semi-automatic annotation of the detected lipid species. It also provides an extensive description of the different properties of each molecule (such as retention time dependencies, mass accuracy, adduct formation and fragmentation patterns), which allowed the annotations to be made more accurately.

Juxtaposition of the Source-to-Sink Ratio and Fruit Exposure to Solar Radiation on cv. Merlot ( L.) Berry Phenolics in a Cool versus Warm Growing Region.

The grapevine source-to-sink ratio and berry exposure to solar radiation both influence grape flavonoid biosynthesis and accumulation. Here, we compared these concepts on cv. Merlot in two different growing locations (Michigan (MI) and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG), IT) to understand whether the environment influences flavonoid sensitivity to these parameters.

The Physiological Impact of GFLV Virus Infection on Grapevine Water Status: First Observations.

In a vineyard, grapevines are simultaneously exposed to combinations of several abiotic (drought, extreme temperatures, salinity) and biotic stresses (phytoplasmas, viruses, bacteria). With climate change, the incidences of drought in vine growing regions are increased and the host range of pathogens with increased chances of virulent strain development has expanded. Therefore, we studied the impact of the combination of abiotic (drought) and biotic ( (GFLV) infection) stress on physiological and molecular responses on the grapevine of cv.

Grape Lipidomics: An Extensive Profiling thorough UHPLC-MS/MS Method.

Lipids play many essential roles in living organisms, which accounts for the great diversity of these amphiphilic molecules within the individual lipid classes, while their composition depends on intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Recent developments in mass spectrometric methods have significantly contributed to the widespread application of the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) approach to the analysis of plant lipids. However, only a few investigators have studied the extensive composition of grape lipids.

Stomatal responses in grapevine become increasingly more tolerant to low water potentials throughout the growing season.

The leaf of a deciduous species completes its life cycle in a few months. During leaf maturation, osmolyte accumulation leads to a significant reduction of the turgor loss point (Ψ ), a known marker for stomatal closure. Here we exposed two grapevine cultivars to drought at three different times during the growing season to explore if the seasonal decrease in leaf Ψ influences the stomatal response to drought.

Cluster Thinning and Vineyard Site Modulate the Metabolomic Profile of Ribolla Gialla Base and Sparkling Wines.

Depending on the vineyard location, cluster thinning (CT) may represent an effective tool to obtain the desired grape composition and wine quality. The effect of 20% cluster thinning on Ribolla Gialla ( L.) sparkling wine aroma, lipid compounds, and aromatic amino acid (AAA) metabolites composition was studied for three consecutive seasons in two vineyards located in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Italy.

Unraveling the genetic origin of 'Glera', 'Ribolla Gialla' and other autochthonous grapevine varieties from Friuli Venezia Giulia (northeastern Italy).

'Glera' and 'Ribolla Gialla' are the most economically relevant local grapevine cultivars of Friuli Venezia Giulia region (north-eastern Italy). 'Glera' is used to produce the world-renowned Prosecco wine. 'Ribolla Gialla' cultivation is constantly increasing due to the strong demand for sparkling wine and is the most important variety in Brda (Slovenia).

Analysis of Non-Structural Carbohydrates and Xylem Anatomy of Leaf Petioles Offers New Insights in the Drought Response of Two Grapevine Cultivars.

In grapevine, the anatomy of xylem conduits and the non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) content of the associated living parenchyma are expected to influence water transport under water limitation. In fact, both NSC and xylem features play a role in plant recovery from drought stress. We evaluated these traits in petioles of Cabernet Sauvignon (CS) and Syrah (SY) cultivars during water stress (WS) and recovery.

Increase in seed tannin extractability and oxidation using a freeze-thaw treatment in cool-climate grown red (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars.

Grape seed maturation involves the gradual oxidation of tannins, decreasing excessive bitterness and astringency in wine. In cool climates, this process is limited by the short growing season, affecting wine quality. A "freeze-thaw" treatment on seeds of red vinifera cultivars at veraison and harvest was used to evaluate the effect of oxidation and extractability on seed phenolic fractions.

Enhancement of Fruit Technological Maturity and Alteration of the Flavonoid Metabolomic Profile in Merlot ( Vitis vinifera L.) by Early Mechanical Leaf Removal.

Removal of basal leaves near blooms inevitably affects grapevine balance and cluster microclimate conditions, improving fruit quality. Mechanization of this practice allows growers to save time and resources, but to our knowledge, it has not yet been compared with the manual application of this practice in a cool-climate region where seasonal temperatures frequently limit fruit technological maturity and phenolic ripening in red Vitis vinifera cultivars. In our research, berry sugar concentration was highest with prebloom mechanical treatment (PB-ME).

Changes in Within-Shoot Carbon Partitioning in Pinot Noir Grapevines Subjected to Early Basal Leaf Removal.

Early leaf removal significantly alters the source-sink balance within grapevine shoots, leading to a reduction in fruit set. However, no research has previously examined the conditions controlling this process in terms of carbon allocation among major sink organs following defoliation. In this study, the impact of defoliation at bloom on the distribution dynamics of leaf assimilates among clusters and growing shoot apices was investigated on , cv.

Enhancement of Istrian Malvasia wine aroma and hydroxycinnamate composition by hand and mechanical leaf removal.

Background: Leaf removal is a viticultural practice that promotes the biosynthesis of several important grape constituents by improving fruit zone microclimate. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of hand and mechanical leaf removal, applied at the pea-size stage of berry development, on fruit zone microclimate, volatile aroma compounds, hydroxycinnamates and sensory characteristics of Istrian Malvasia (Vitis vinifera L.) wines.

Grapevine fanleaf virus affects grape (Vitis vinifera) berry anthocyanin content via the transcriptional regulation of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes.

Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) causes grapevine fanleaf degeneration, one of the oldest known viral diseases of grapevines. The virus has been found in all winegrowing regions around the world. In the seasons 2011-12 a comparison between field grown GFLV-infected and healthy grapevines was conducted for the cultivars Schioppettino in North-Eastern Italy and Refošk in South-Western Slovenia.

UHPLC-MS/MS determination of varietal thiol precursors in Sauvignon Blanc grapes.

Varietal thiol precursors in grapes are subject to metabolic changes during post-harvest treatments. Metabolic activity should therefore be limited after sampling to understand their biosynthesis in the berry and genetic regulation. In this study, berries were frozen in liquid nitrogen immediately after harvesting, transported in dry ice, stored briefly at -80 °C, cryo-milled and extracted without being thawed in cold methanol in a ratio of 1:4 (w/v).

Combined Effects of Early Season Leaf Removal and Climatic Conditions on Aroma Precursors in Sauvignon Blanc Grapes.

Early leaf removal around the cluster zone is a common technique applied in cool climate viticulture, to regulate yield components and improve fruit quality. Despite the increasing amount of information on early leaf removal and its impact on total soluble solids, anthocyanins, and polyphenols, less is known regarding aroma compounds. In order to verify the hypothesis that defoliation, applied before or after flowering, could impact the biosynthesis of thiol precursors, we performed a two year (2013 and 2014) experiment on Sauvignon blanc.

Impact of Leaf Removal, Applied Before and After Flowering, on Anthocyanin, Tannin, and Methoxypyrazine Concentrations in 'Merlot' (Vitis vinifera L.) Grapes and Wines.

The development and accumulation of secondary metabolites in grapes determine wine color, taste, and aroma. This study aimed to investigate the effect of leaf removal before flowering, a practice recently introduced to reduce cluster compactness and Botrytis rot, on anthocyanin, tannin, and methoxypyrazine concentrations in 'Merlot' grapes and wines. Leaf removal before flowering was compared with leaf removal after flowering and an untreated control.

Use of non-conventional yeast improves the wine aroma profile of Ribolla Gialla.

Consumer wine preferences are changing rapidly towards exotic flavours and tastes. In this work, we tested five non-conventional yeast strains for their potential to improve Ribolla Gialla wine quality. These strains were previously selected from numerous yeasts interesting as food production candidates.

Olive Fruit Phenols Transfer, Transformation, and Partition Trail during Laboratory-Scale Olive Oil Processing.

This work is the most comprehensive study on the quantitative behavior of olive fruit phenols during olive oil processing, providing insight into their transfer, transformation, and partition trail. In total, 69 phenols were quantified in 6 olive matrices from a three-phase extraction line employing ultra high pressure liquid chromatography-diode array detection analysis. Crushing had a larger effect than malaxation in terms of phenolic degradation and transformation, resulting in several new evolutions of respective derivatives.

Use of metabolic profiling to study grape skin polyphenol behavior as a result of canopy microclimate manipulation in a 'Pinot noir' vineyard.

Canopy microclimate manipulation can have a significant effect on grapevine gene expression and can thus affect the yield of many important berry compounds. Focusing on only a few targeted phenolics in the past, advanced multimethod analytical approaches are opening up much wider possibilities to fill in the gaps of missing knowledge about plant secondary metabolism. Different leaf removal timings, leading to different microclimate scenarios, were thus introduced in a 'Pinot noir' vineyard to reveal related alterations of multiple classes of skin phenolics, including some rarely studied to date.

Early versus late leaf removal strategies for Pinot Noir (Vitis vinifera L.): effect on colour-related phenolics in young wines following alcoholic fermentation.

Background: The widely adopted viticultural practice of late (véraison) leaf removal is now losing many of its advantages as a result of today's warmer vineyard conditions. With the aim of seeking a good alternative, the influence of earlier leaf removals (at pre-flowering and berry-set) on colour-related phenolics in young Pinot Noir wines was investigated in the years 2009 and 2010.

Results: Total flavonols in 2009 wines were 71 and 52% higher in case of véraison and berry-set treatments respectively as compared with untreated controls, while in 2010 the average content of flavonols was highest with pre-flowering leaf removal (75% higher than controls).