WINETECH Technical Yearbook 2021

REFERENCES Jaillon, O., Aury, J.M., Noel, B., Policriti, A., Clepet, C., Casagrande, A., Choisne, N., Aubourg, S., Vitulo, N., Jubin, C., Vezzi, A., Legeai, F., Hugueney, P., Dasilva, C., Horner, D., Mica, E., Jublot, D., Poulain, J., Bruyère, C., Billault, A., Segurens, B., Gouyvenoux, M., Ugarte, E., Cattonaro, F., Anthouard, V., Vico, V., Del Fabbro, C., Alaux, M., Di Gaspero, G., Dumas, V., Felice, N., Paillard, S., Juman, I., Moroldo, M., Scalabrin, S., Canaguier, A., Le Clainche, I., Malacrida, G., Durand, E., Pesole, G., Laucou, V., Chatelet, P., Merdinoglu, D., Delledonne, M., Pezzotti, M., Lecharny, A., Scarpelli, C., Artiguenave, F., Pè, M. E., Valle, G., Morgante, M., Caboche, M., Adam-Blondon, A.F., Weissenbach, J., Quétier, F. &Wincker, P., 2007. The grapevine

create the next Pinotage: a proudly South African cultivar with strong environmental sustainability credentials and adapted to local climate and conditions. SUMMARY Over the preceding two decades wine grape breeding efforts have been increasing dramatically worldwide. Driven by an ever- increasing demand for more sustainable agriculture, breeders have focused on developing cultivars resistant to mildew, thereby reducing the need for fungicide treatments. These cultivars have started to enter international markets, where consumer interest is strong. While efforts in South Africa over the same period have not been as productive, we are now well

positioned to make use of new technologies and knowledge to breed our own locally relevant cultivars. The sequencing of the grapevine genome, together with marker-assisted selection technology, already allows for a streamlined approach to breeding. As more and more genetic markers are developed, breeders will be able to incorporate an increasing range of traits of interest in a targeted fashion into novel cultivars. While time remains a major obstacle to grapevine breeding, the microvine cultivar provides an exciting solution. This cultivar produces fruit as early as five months after planting of seedlings, dramatically reducing generation times, the key bottleneck in breeding programmes.

genome sequence suggests ancestral hexaploidization in major angiosperm phyla, Nature 449(7161): 463-467. Fuentes Espinoza, A., Hubert, A., Raineau, Y., Franc, C. & Giraud-Héraud, É., 2018. Resistant grape varieties and market acceptance: An evaluat ion based on experimental economics, OENO One 52(3). Chaïb, J., Torregrosa, L., Mackenzie, D., Corena, P., Bouquet, A. & Thomas, M.R., 2010. The grapemicrovine – amodel system for rapid forward and reverse genetics of grapevines, The Plant Journal 62(6), 1083-1092.

For more information, contact Justin Lashbrooke at jglash@sun.ac.za.

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