Low night temperature at veraison enhances the accumulation of anthocyanins in Corvina grapes (Vitis Vinifera L.)

Federica Gaiotti,Lorenzo Lovat,Nicola Belfiore,Diego Tomasi,Chiara Pastore,Ilaria Filippetti

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-26921-4

Federica Gaiotti, Lorenzo Lovat + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-26921-4

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Journal: Scientific Reports	Publication Date: Jun 7, 2018
Citations: 60	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Cereal Research Centre, University of Bologna

Abstract

Climate change is a major concern in grape production worldwide. Nights have been warming much faster than the days, raising attention on the effect of night temperatures on grape and wine composition. In this study we evaluated the effect of night temperatures on grape coloration in the cv. Corvina (Vitis vinifera L.). In 2015 and 2016 potted plants were cooled overnight (10–11 °C) during two berry ripening phases, veraison (TV) or post-veraison (TPV), and compared to control vines (C) grown at ambient night temperature (15–20 °C on average). Cooling treatment around veraison (TV) hastened berry anthocyanin accumulation, while the same treatment applied after veraison (TPV) was ineffective. Molecular analysis revealed an increased transcription of four key genes in anthocyanin biosynthesis (CHS3, F3H1, MYBA1 and UFGT) in TV treatment. These results suggest that the anthocyanin biosynthesis capacity was enhanced by cool nights during veraison. However, since the gene expression was not always temporally correlated to the increase in anthocyanin concentration, we speculate on the presence of mechanisms, such as enzymatic regulation or anthocyanin transport, which may contribute in determining the anthocyanin accumulation under low night temperatures.

Highlights

There is mounting evidence that the current changes in climate across the Northern Hemisphere will continue in the future and affect temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric CO2 concentration
In the first research on the effect of night temperature on anthocyanin accumulation, Cardinal, Pinot noir and Tokay vines placed at cool night (15 °C) temperatures from beginning of veraison until harvest had much more intense coloration than fruits ripened at warm nights (25 °C) and it was reported that the influence of night temperature on fruit coloration was dependent, at least in part, on the day temperature and on the differential between day and night temperatures[17]
This effect could be linked to the inhibition of gene expression of several genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis and to the decrease in PAL and UFGT activities detected in berries grown at 30 °C

Summary

Introduction

There is mounting evidence that the current changes in climate across the Northern Hemisphere will continue in the future and affect temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric CO2 concentration. Mori et al.[20] showed that anthocyanin accumulation in the skin of Darkridge (Vitis vinifera L. x Vitis labrusca L.) berries placed prior to veraison (beginning of berry softening) at high night temperatures (30 °C continuous) was lower than that of berries grown at low night temperatures (30 °C daytime/15 °C night-time). This effect could be linked to the inhibition of gene expression of several genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis and to the decrease in PAL and UFGT activities detected in berries grown at 30 °C. That nowadays are a common occurrence in several vine growing areas worldwide, are on the limit for optimal ripening processes, in particular for anthocyanin biosynthesis, which has been reported to be favored under mild day temperatures (25 °C)[17,36,37], and under night temperatures below 15 °C20,21

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