Genetic and Epigenetic Responses of Autochthonous Grapevine Cultivars from the 'Epirus' Region of Greece Upon Consecutive Drought Stress

Overview

Journal Plants (Basel)

Date 2024 Jan 11

PMID 38202337

Authors

Grigorios Maniatis

Eleni Tani

Anastasios Katsileros

Evangelia V Avramidou

Theodora Pitsoli

Efi Sarri

Maria Gerakari

Maria Goufa

Maria Panagoulakou

Konstantina Xipolitaki

Kimon Klouvatos

Stamatia Megariti

Polixeni Pappi

Ioannis E Papadakis

Penelope J Bebeli

Aliki Kapazoglou

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Within the framework of preserving and valorizing the rich grapevine germplasm of the Epirus region of Greece, indigenous grapevine ( L.) cultivars were characterized and assessed for their resilience to abiotic stresses in the context of climate change. The cultivars 'Debina' and 'Dichali' displayed significant differences in their response to drought stress as judged by morpho-physiological analysis, indicating higher drought tolerance for Dichali. Hence, they were selected for further study aiming to identify genetic and epigenetic mechanisms possibly regulating drought adaptability. Specifically, self-rooted and heterografted on 'Richter 110' rootstock plants were subjected to two phases of drought with a recovery period in between. Gene expression analysis was performed for two stress-related miRNAs and their target genes: (a) miRNA159 and putative targets, , , and (b) miRNA156 and putative target gene . Overall, grafted plants exhibited a higher drought tolerance than self-rooted plants, suggesting beneficial rootstock-scion interactions. Comparative analysis revealed differential gene expression under repetitive drought stresses between the two cultivars as well as between the self-rooted and grafted plants. 'Dichali' exhibited an up-regulation of most of the genes examined, which may be associated with increased tolerance. Nevertheless, the profound down-regulation of (a transcriptional co-repressor of transcription factors) upon drought and the concomitant up-regulation of highlights the importance of this 'miRNA-target' module in drought responsiveness. DNA methylation profiling using MSAP analysis revealed differential methylation patterns between the two genotypes in response to drought. Further investigations of gene expression and DNA methylation will contribute to our understanding of the epigenetic mechanisms underlying grapevine tolerance to drought stress.

Citing Articles

Crop Landraces and Indigenous Varieties: A Valuable Source of Genes for Plant Breeding.

Lazaridi E, Kapazoglou A, Gerakari M, Kleftogianni K, Passa K, Sarri E Plants (Basel). 2024; 13(6).

PMID: 38592762 PMC: 10975389. DOI: 10.3390/plants13060758.

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