Abstract
In the last decade, great progress has been made in clarifying the main determinants of anthocyanin accumulation in grape berry skin. However, the molecular details of the fine variation among cultivars, which ultimately contributes to wine typicity, are still not completely understood. To shed light on this issue, the grapes of 170 F1 progeny from the cross 'Syrah'×'Pinot Noir' were characterized at the mature stage for the content of 15 anthocyanins during four growing seasons. This huge data set was used in combination with a dense genetic map to detect genomic regions controlling the anthocyanin pathway both at key enzymatic points and at particular branches. Genes putatively involved in fine tuning the global regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis were identified by exploring the gene predictions in the QTL (quantitative trait locus) confidence intervals and their expression profile during berry development in offspring with contrasting anthocyanin accumulation. New information on some aspects which had scarcely been investigated so far, such as anthocyanin transport into the vacuole, or completely neglected, such as acylation, is provided. These genes represent a valuable resource in grapevine molecular-based breeding programmes to improve both fruit and wine quality and to tailor wine sensory properties according to consumer demand.
Highlights
Besides their direct role in the colour of grapes and wine, anthocyanins and their derived compounds contribute to the sensory attributes of wine by interacting with molecules such as phenolics, polysaccharides, proteins, metals, and aroma substances (He et al, 2012)
Genes putatively involved in fine tuning the global regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis were identified by exploring the gene predictions in the QTL confidence intervals and their expression profile during berry development in offspring with contrasting anthocyanin accumulation
By analysing all the progeny, a major QTL on Linkage groups (LGs) 2 was detected for all the 15 anthocyanins and for their sums (‘totals’), which explained between 31% and 74% of phenotypic variance averaged over years
Summary
Besides their direct role in the colour of grapes and wine, anthocyanins and their derived compounds contribute to the sensory attributes of wine by interacting with molecules such as phenolics, polysaccharides, proteins, metals, and aroma substances (He et al, 2012). Anthocyanins are present in the skins of coloured cultivars as 3-monoglucosides of five anthocyanidins that are differently hydroxylated and O-methylated on the B ring. This chemical diversity may be further increased by acylation (aliphatic or aromatic) in the C6-position of the glucose moiety. These secondary modifications determine the chromatic properties of the pigments (Jackson, 2008).
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