Epigenetics: an innovative lever for grapevine breeding in times of climatic changes

Abstract

Climate change imposes numerous threats to viticulture. Different strategies have been developed to mitigate these effects that range from innovative vineyard management methods and precision viticulture to the breeding of new varieties and rootstocks better adapted to environmental challenges. Epigenetics refer to heritable changes in genome functioning that are not mediated by DNA sequence variations. The recent discovery that epigenetic memories can mediate acclimation and adaptation of plants to their environment now provides new levers for plant improvement facing climate changes without significant impact on the genetic information. This can be mediated either by using the epigenetic memories of stresses and/or by creating epigenetic diversity in the form of new epialleles without changing the genetic information. Indeed, grapevine is a perennial grafted clonally propagated plant, and as such, presents epigenetic specificities. These specificities require adapting strategies that have already been developed in model plants but also offer opportunities to explore how epigenetic memories and diversity can be a major source of rapid adaptation to the environment for plants bearing similar properties. Among these strategies, both annual and trans-annual plant priming with different types of elicitors might provide efficient ways to better face (a)biotic stresses. The use of epigenetic exchanges between scion and rootstocks and/or the creation of non-targeted epigenetic variations at a genome-wide scale, or targeted using epigenetic editing, may provide innovative and promising avenues for grapevine improvement to face challenges imposed by climate changes.

Smart selection of soil microbes for resilient and sustainable viticulture

“…As far as grapevine is concerned, genes encoding enzymes controlling histone methylation and/or acetylation are differentially regulated in response to abiotic stresses suggesting that epigenetic regulations are important in the response to stresses in this plant as well. The importance of DNA methylation in grapevine stress responses is also shown by changes in DNA methylation patterns induced after Flavescence dor ee infection (Pagliarani et al, 2020), or by the application of elicitors (Gao et al, 2020), and pieces of evidence are accumulating that it could play important roles in abiotic stress response and memory as well (reviewed in Berger et al, 2023). In Arabidopsis plants inoculated with microbes isolated from desert plants, histone methylation in the promoter regions of aquaporin genes was revealed to increase the tolerance to drought stress (Alwutayd et al, 2023).…”

Emerging Roles of Epigenetics in Grapevine and Winegrowing

“…It also has an essential role in maintaining DNA stability by suppressing the activity of transposable elements (TEs) and the transcription of potentially harmful exogenous genetic elements (e.g., viral DNA) [ 19 , 20 ]. DNA methylation primarily takes place when a methyl group (-CH3) is covalently attached to the fifth carbon of the pyrimidine ring of cytosine forming 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) or, more rarely, to the sixth carbon of the purine ring of adenine forming N6-methyladenine (N6-mA) [ 15 , 21 ].…”

“…Some recent epigenetic studies have further suggested a role of histone post-translational modifications in grape berries [ 23 ]. Specifically, more than 30 genes encoding polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) components (chromatin regulatory complex), SET domain group (SDG) proteins (epigenetic modulators with methyltransferase activity), and HATs were identified to exhibit expression patterns that indicate a possible involvement of the respective proteins in berry development and ripening [ 15 , 68 ]. Transcription factors of the NAC and MADS-box families also appear to be involved in grape berry ripening process.…”

“…This may suggest additional viticultural benefits of grafting, such as stability of grapevine performance for important agricultural traits. Recent research showed that the epigenetic crosstalk between rootstock and scion involves the transportation of sRNAs between grafting partners [ 15 ]. In V. vinifera cv.…”

“…Research on grapevine epigenetics is still in its infancy [ 15 ]. Nonetheless, recent studies have indicated that environmental signals can cause epigenetic modifications that impact grapevine adaptation to stress.…”