Genetic analysis reveals an east-west divide within North American Vitis species that mirrors their resistance to Pierce's disease.

Pierce's disease (PD) caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa is a deadly disease of grapevines. This study used 20 SSR markers to genotype 326 accessions of grape species collected from the southeastern and southwestern United States, Mexico and Costa Rica. Two hundred sixty-six of these accessions, and an additional 12 PD resistant hybrid cultivars developed from southeastern US grape species, were evaluated for PD resistance. Disease resistance was evaluated by quantifying the level of bacteria in stems and measuring PD symptoms on the canes and leaves. Both Bayesian clustering and principal coordinate analyses identified two groups with an east-west divide: group 1 consisted of grape species from the southeastern US and Mexico, and group 2 consisted of accessions collected from the southwestern US and Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range appeared to be a phylogeographic barrier. The state of Texas was identified as a potential hybridization zone. The hierarchal STRUCTURE analysis on each group showed clustering of unique grape species. An east-west divide was also observed for PD resistance. With the exception of Vitis candicans and V. cinerea accessions collected from Mexico, all other grape species as well as the resistant southeastern hybrid cultivars were susceptible to the disease. Southwestern US grape accessions from drier desert regions showed stronger resistance to the disease. Strong PD resistance was observed within three distinct genetic clusters of V. arizonica which is adapted to drier environments and hybridizes freely with other species across its wide range.

Identification of two novel powdery mildew resistance loci, Ren6 and Ren7, from the wild Chinese grape species Vitis piasezkii.

BACKGROUND: Grapevine powdery mildew Erysiphe necator is a major fungal disease in all grape growing countries worldwide. Breeding for resistance to this disease is crucial to avoid extensive fungicide applications that are costly, labor intensive and may have detrimental effects on the environment. In the past decade, Chinese Vitis species have attracted attention from grape breeders because of their strong resistance to powdery mildew and their lack of negative fruit quality attributes that are often present in resistant North American species. In this study, we investigated powdery mildew resistance in multiple accessions of the Chinese species Vitis piasezkii that were collected during the 1980 Sino-American botanical expedition to the western Hubei province of China. RESULTS: A framework genetic map was developed using simple sequence repeat markers in 277 seedlings of an F1 mapping population arising from a cross of the powdery mildew susceptible Vitis vinifera selection F2-35 and a resistant accession of V. piasezkii DVIT2027. Quantitative trait locus analyses identified two major powdery mildew resistance loci on chromosome 9 (Ren6) and chromosome 19 (Ren7) explaining 74.8 % of the cumulative phenotypic variation. The quantitative trait locus analysis for each locus, in the absence of the other, explained 95.4 % phenotypic variation for Ren6, while Ren7 accounted for 71.9 % of the phenotypic variation. Screening of an additional 259 seedlings of the F1 population and 910 seedlings from four pseudo-backcross populations with SSR markers defined regions of 22 kb and 330 kb for Ren6 and Ren7 in the V. vinifera PN40024 (12X) genome sequence, respectively. Both R loci operate post-penetration through the induction of programmed cell death, but vary significantly in the speed of response and degree of resistance; Ren6 confers complete resistance whereas Ren7 confers partial resistance to the disease with reduced colony size. A comparison of the kinetics of induction of powdery mildew resistance mediated by Ren6, Ren7 and the Run1 locus from Muscadinia rotundifolia, indicated that the speed and strength of resistance conferred by Ren6 is greater than that of Run1 which, in turn, is superior to that conferred by Ren7. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of mapping powdery mildew resistance in the Chinese species V. piasezkii. Two distinct powdery mildew R loci designated Ren6 and Ren7 were found in multiple accessions of this Chinese grape species. Their location on different chromosomes to previously reported powdery mildew resistance R loci offers the potential for grape breeders to combine these R genes with existing powdery mildew R loci to produce grape germplasm with more durable resistance against this rapidly evolving fungal pathogen.

Identification of mildew resistance in wild and cultivated Central Asian grape germplasm.

BACKGROUND: Cultivated grapevines, Vitis vinifera subsp. sativa, evolved from their wild relative, V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris. They were domesticated in Central Asia in the absence of the powdery mildew fungus, Erysiphe necator, which is thought to have originated in North America. However, powdery mildew resistance has previously been discovered in two Central Asian cultivars and in Chinese Vitis species. RESULTS: A set of 380 unique genotypes were evaluated with data generated from 34 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The set included 306 V. vinifera cultivars, 40 accessions of V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris, and 34 accessions of Vitis species from northern Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. Based on the presence of four SSR alleles previously identified as linked to the powdery mildew resistance locus, Ren1, 10 new mildew resistant genotypes were identified in the test set: eight were V. vinifera cultivars and two were V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris based on flower and seed morphology. Sequence comparison of a 620 bp region that includes the Ren1-linked allele (143 bp) of the co-segregating SSR marker SC8-0071-014, revealed that the ten newly identified genotypes have sequences that are essentially identical to the previously identified mildew resistant V. vinifera cultivars: 'Kishmish vatkana' and 'Karadzhandal'. Kinship analysis determined that three of the newly identified powdery mildew resistant accessions had a relationship with 'Kishmish vatkana' and 'Karadzhandal', and that six were not related to any other accession in this study set. Clustering procedures assigned accessions into three groups: 1) Chinese species; 2) a mixed group of cultivated and wild V. vinifera; and 3) table grape cultivars, including nine of the powdery mildew resistant accessions. Gene flow was detected among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that powdery mildew resistance is present in V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris, the dioecious wild progenitor of the cultivated grape. Four first-degree parent progeny relationships were discovered among the hermaphroditic powdery mildew resistant cultivars, supporting the existence of intentional grape breeding efforts. Although several Chinese grape species are resistant to powdery mildew, no direct genetic link to the resistance found in V. vinifera could be established.