Category Archives: Genetics and the Grape
International collaboration advances research into grape disease resistance
The effectiveness of a collaboration between two research teams can be greater than the sum of its parts. This was part of the incentive for German scientist Daniel Zendler, a leading expert on the Ren3 and Ren9 genes for powdery … Continue reading
Staff Spotlight on Cheng Zou
VitisGen2 team member Cheng Zou, postdoctoral researcher in Qi Sun’s lab at Cornell University, talks about finding a core-genome markers for comparing genotypic data across all grape species, and the applications for marker assisted selection and quantitative trait mapping! Don’t … Continue reading
New RIPE article on genetic linkage mapping
Our new “Research In Plain English” article is now available: “A new locus associated with downy mildew resistance is found by creating a more accurate genetic linkage map” Our VitisGen2 teams are doing a lot of great work learning about … Continue reading
Qi Sun, Anne Fennell and Dario Cantu participate in INTEGRAPE meeting in Greece.
The Integrape meeting is focused on developing FAIR (Findable, Accesible, Interoperable and Reusable) standards to harmonize databases on Vitis genomics, genetics, and breeding. Report written by Qi Sun and Anne Fennell Integrape (http://www.integrape.eu) is a cooperation network sponsored by European Cooperation … Continue reading
“American Vineyard” article on table grape breeding
Tim Martinson, Craig Ledbetter and Rachel Naegele wrote an article for “American Vineyard” magazine about how VitisGen2 is using marker assisted selection to breed new table grape varieties with deeper coloration. You can read the full article!
VitisGen table grape breeders focus on color in “American Vineyard” article
In an article published in “American Vineyard” magazine in March 2019, VitisGen2 team members Tim Martinson, Craig Ledbetter and Rachel Naegele discuss how table grape breeders are using marker assisted selection to expedite the development of new varieties with nice, deep, … Continue reading
New Technology for Next-gen DNA Sequencing Validated by the VitisGen2 Project
A new technology called rhAmpSeq™ is allowing grape geneticists and breeders to rapidly find and validate 2000 markers in diverse grape varieties and species. These ‘core genome markers’ provide a new set of mileposts that were used during a pilot … Continue reading
Why the World’s Most Popular Wine Grapes Are Vulnerable to a Pandemic
An article by Jen Pinkowski in Mental Floss discusses the lack of genetic diversity in the most commonly cultivated V. vinifera grapes. “The vast majority of wine produced across the world derives from a single grapevine species: Vitis vinifera. The … Continue reading
Posted in Genetics and the Grape
Tagged grape diversity, grape genetics, Jen Pinkowski, Mental Floss, Viewpoint, Vitis vinifera
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Molecular Changes in Vitis vinifera Associated with the Onset of Pierce’s Disease
A new publication out of UC Davis, co-authored by VitisGen2 genetics team member, Dario Cantu, investigated molecular changes in vines infected by Pierce’s disease. The bacterial disease is of major concern because it is vectored by a ubiquitous insect, the … Continue reading
Posted in Genetics and the Grape
Tagged Dario Cantu, glassy winged sharpshooter, grape breeding, grape molecular markers, Pierce's Disease, UC Davis, VitisGen2
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Grape Breeders No Longer Flying Blind
Wines & Vines, March 2018 issue By Tim Martinson “For grape breeders and geneticists, the previous trickle of scarce genetic knowledge has turned into a flood of DNA sequence information. For the first time, there is enough sequence information to … Continue reading
Posted in Genetics and the Grape
Tagged grape breeding, grape genetics, grape genome, Quantitative Trait Locus, Tim Martinson, Wines and Vines
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