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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Geneva, New York » Grape Genetics Research Unit (GGRU) » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409691
Research Project: Genetic Improvement of Grape Quality and Adaptation to Diseases and Abiotic Stress

Location: Grape Genetics Research Unit (GGRU)

Title: Transcriptome analysis unveils a potential novel role of VvAP1 in regulating the developmental fate of primordia in grapevine

Author
item ARRO, JIE - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Yang, Yingzhen
item SONG, GUOQING - Michigan State University
item COUSINS, PETER - E & J Gallo Winery
item Liu, Zongrang
item Zhong, Gan-Yuan

Submitted to: Fruit Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/26/2023
Publication Date: 3/4/2024
Citation: Arro, J., Yang, Y., Song, G., Cousins, P., Liu, Z., Zhong, G. 2024. Transcriptome analysis unveils a potential novel role of VvAP1 in regulating the developmental fate of primordia in grapevine. Fruit Research. 4. Article e011. https://doi.org/10.48130/frures-0024-0004.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.48130/frures-0024-0004

Interpretive Summary: A dwarf mutant vine, named as 'Pixie', was found to flower continuously with many inflorescences and few tendrils. The mutant resulted from a mutation in a gene named as 'VvDELLA'. Why the mutant produces more inflorescences than tendrils is not known. We conducted a gene expression study and compared the expression profiles of wild type and several grapevines of different genetic backgrounds carrying the mutation. We concluded that flower regulator genes VvAP1 and VvTFL1a promotes anlagens (undifferentiated primordia) to develop tendrils while VvLFY favors inflorescences, and their ratio likely dictates the developmental fate of anlagens to tendrils or inflorescences.

Technical Abstract: The grapevine shoot meristem contains undifferentiated primordia known as anlagen, which can develop into either inflorescences or tendrils depending on vine age, growth status, hormone balance, and other factors. Interestingly, a gain-of-function mutation in the DELLA domain of VvDELLA1 in the dwarf mutant grape, Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pixie, virtually disrupts the normal developmental course of anlagen and reroutes tendril-bounded anlagen toward inflorescence development even at the juvenile stage. To understand the underlying mechanism(s), we compared the transcriptome profiles of V. vinifera cv. Pinot Meunier (from which Pixie was derived), Pixie, and three other V. vinifera grape cultivars (Dena, Gina, and Tia) which were derived from crosses involving Pixie and carry the same DELLA mutation. Our findings revealed significant mis-regulation of hundreds of genes, profoundly reshaping both transcriptome landscapes and regulatory pathways in the mutant grapes. Interestingly, VvAP1, a central positive flower regulator in annuals, was unexpectedly co-downregulated with VvTFL1a, a flowering repressor. We also found several other key flower regulators which were either upregulated (e.g., VvFT, VvLFY) or downregulated (e.g., VvSOC1s) in all mutant grapes, although the overall effect was moderate. These findings, along with the previous identification of tendril-specific expression of VvAP1 and inflorescence-specific expression of VvLFY, support that VvAP1 promotes anlagens to develop tendrils, whereas VvLFY favors inflorescences formation. The balance between these factors, particularly the abundance of VvAP1 transcripts, ultimately dictates whether anlagens develop into tendrils or inflorescences.