Impedance of the Grape Berry Cuticle as a Novel Phenotypic Trait to Estimate Resistance to Botrytis Cinerea

Warm and moist weather conditions during berry ripening provoke Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea) causing notable bunch rot on susceptible grapevines with the effect of reduced yield and wine quality. Resistance donors of genetic loci to increase B. cinerea resistance are widely unknown. Promising traits of resistance are represented by physical features like the thickness and permeability of the grape berry cuticle. Sensor-based phenotyping methods or genetic markers are rare for such traits. In the present study, the simple-to-handle I-sensor was developed. The sensor enables the fast and reliable measurement of electrical impedance of the grape berry cuticles and its epicuticular waxes (CW). Statistical experiments revealed highly significant correlations between relative impedance of CW and the resistance of grapevines to B. cinerea. Thus, the relative impedance Zrel of CW was identified as the most important phenotypic factor with regard to the prediction of grapevine resistance to B. cinerea. An ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed a R2McFadden of 0.37 and confirmed the application of Zrel of CW for the prediction of bunch infection and in this way as novel phenotyping trait. Applying the I-sensor, a preliminary QTL region was identified indicating that the novel phenotypic trait is as well a valuable tool for genetic analyses.

[1]  R. N. Allen,et al.  Infection of grape flowers and berries by Botrytis cinerea as a function of time and temperature , 1993 .

[2]  G. Ash,et al.  An expert system for the management of Botrytis cinerea in Australian vineyards. II. Validation , 1998 .

[3]  C. Heidl,et al.  SPSS 20. Einführung in die moderne Datenanalyse , 2013 .

[4]  M. Knoche,et al.  Deposition, strain, and microcracking of the cuticle in developing 'Riesling' grape berries , 2015 .

[5]  Lukas Schreiber,et al.  Transport barriers made of cutin, suberin and associated waxes. , 2010, Trends in plant science.

[6]  W. R. Jarvis,et al.  Botryotinia and Botrytis species: taxonomy, physiology and pathogenicity - A guide to the literature , 1977 .

[7]  Lucien Hoffmann,et al.  Impact of Grape Cluster Division on Cluster Morphology and Bunch Rot Epidemic , 2012, American Journal of Enology and Viticulture.

[8]  Marc Fermaud,et al.  Grape berry skin features related to ontogenic resistance to Botrytis cinerea , 2009, European Journal of Plant Pathology.

[9]  W. Gubler,et al.  Effect of Cluster Tightness on Botrytis Bunch Rot in Six Chardonnay Clones. , 1998, Plant disease.

[10]  J. Marois,et al.  Development of an infection model for Botrytis bunch rot of grapes based on wetness duration and temperature. , 1995 .

[11]  Lucien Hoffmann,et al.  Timing of cluster-zone leaf removal and its impact on canopy morphology, cluster structure and bunch rot susceptibility of grapes , 2011 .

[12]  Franka Mlikota Gabler,et al.  Correlations of Morphological, Anatomical, and Chemical Features of Grape Berries with Resistance to Botrytis cinerea. , 2003, Phytopathology.

[13]  Bryan Hed,et al.  Relationship Between Cluster Compactness and Bunch Rot in Vignoles Grapes. , 2009, Plant disease.

[14]  Eva Domínguez,et al.  The biophysical design of plant cuticles: an overview. , 2011, The New phytologist.

[15]  J. Marois,et al.  Grape cluster architecture and the susceptibility of berries to Botrytis cinerea , 1991 .

[16]  M. Knoche,et al.  Water induces microcracks in the grape berry cuticle , 2015 .

[17]  Claudio Moser,et al.  VvAMP2, a grapevine flower‐specific defensin capable of inhibiting Botrytis cinerea growth: insights into its mode of action , 2014 .

[18]  A. Heredia,et al.  A study of the electrical behaviour of isolated tomato cuticular membranes and cutin by impedance spectroscopy measurements , 1998 .

[19]  L. Schreiber,et al.  Effect of humidity on cuticular water permeability of isolated cuticular membranes and leaf disks , 2001, Planta.

[20]  Reinhard Töpfer,et al.  QTL analysis of flowering time and ripening traits suggests an impact of a genomic region on linkage group 1 in Vitis , 2014, Theoretical and Applied Genetics.

[21]  Pascal Comménil,et al.  The development of the grape berry cuticle in relation to susceptibility to bunch rot disease , 1997 .

[22]  L. Schreiber,et al.  Effect of temperature on cuticular transpiration of isolated cuticular membranes and leaf discs. , 2001, Journal of experimental botany.

[23]  M. Hahn,et al.  Age-dependent Grey Mould Susceptibility and Tissue-specific Defence Gene Activation of Grapevine Berry Skins after Infection by Botrytis cinerea , 2007 .

[24]  H. Bleiholder,et al.  Growth Stages of the Grapevine: Phenological growth stages of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. ssp. vinifera)—Codes and descriptions according to the extended BBCH scale† , 1995 .