The genus Vitis (the grapevine) is a group of highly diverse, diploid woody perennial vines consisting of approximately 60 species from across the northern hemisphere. It is the world's most valuable horticultural crop with ~8 million hectares planted, most of which is processed into wine. To gain insights into the use of wild Vitis species during the past century of interspecific grape breedin...

Rubisco is a very large, complex and one of the most abundant proteins in the world and comprises up to 50% of all soluble protein in plants. The activity of Rubisco, the enzyme that catalyzes CO2 assimilation in photosynthesis, is regulated by Rubisco activase (Rca). In the present study, we searched for hypothetical protein of Vitis vinifera which has putative Rubisco activase function. The A...

Several bacteria were evaluated in greenhouse studies for their effectiveness at preventing formation of galls induced by Rhizobium vitis, the Gram negative bacterium that causes crown gall disease of grapevines. Three endophytic bacteria isolated from Malus domestica yielded promising results and were selected for further examination: Pseudomonas fluorescens isolate 1100-6, Bacillus subtilis i...

BACKGROUND Genomic data release for the grapevine has increased exponentially in the last five years. The Vitis vinifera genome has been sequenced and Vitis EST, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic tools and data sets continue to be developed. The next critical challenge is to provide biological meaning to this tremendous amount of data by annotating genes and integrating them within the...

Vitis vinifera grapevines are highly susceptible to downy mildew caused by the host-specific oomycete Plasmopara viticola. In humid climates like New York, where the unchecked pathogen will defoliate vines and destroy young fruit clusters, growers depend upon multiple fungicide applications for disease management. However, management of P. viticola by fungicides is tenuous, because the pathogen...

The necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea is a major threat to grapevine cultivation worldwide. A screen of 41 Vitis genotypes for leaf resistance to B. cinerea suggested species independent variation and revealed 18 resistant Chinese wild Vitis genotypes, while most investigated V. vinifera, or its hybrids, were susceptible. A particularly resistant Chinese wild Vitis, "Pingli-5" (V. sp. [Qinli...

Aquaporins are membrane channels that facilitate the transport of water and other small molecules across the cellular membranes. We examined the role of six aquaporins of Vitis vinifera (cv. Touriga nacional) in the transport of water and atypical substrates (other than water) in an aqy-null strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Their functional characterization for water transport was performed ...

The resistance of wild Vitis germplasm, including Chinese and American wild Vitis and Vitis vinifera cultivars, to powdery mildew (Uncinula necator Burr.) was evaluated for two consecutive years under natural conditions. Most of the Chinese and North American species displayed a resistant phenotype, whereas all of the European species were highly susceptible. The Alachua and Conquistador access...

Fruit set is initiated only after fertilization and is tightly regulated primarily by gibberellins (GAs) and auxins. The application of either of these hormones induces parthenocarpy, fruit set without fertilization, but the molecular mechanism underlying this induction is poorly understood. In the present study, we have shown that the parthenocarpic fruits induced by GA application at pre-bloo...

Aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Vitis indica were tested for diuretic activity in rats. The parameters studied on individual rats were body weight before and after test period, total urine volume, urine concentration of Na+,Ka+ and Cr. In the present study, alcoholic and aqueous extracts of Vitis indica leaves (200 mg/kg body weight) shows increase in urine volume, cationic and anionic excret...