Genetics, Genomics, and Breeding of Grapes

Grapevine is a highly valuable crop worldwide, both from cultural as well as commercial point of view. One major advantage this crop has is that it is well adapted to scarce water conditions. Grapes are also a valuable source of health-promoting compounds such as polyphenols. The main object of grapevine breeding is to develop varieties of high quality, that are resistant to pathogens and at the same time well adapted to a changing environment. Since the beginning of the XXI century, there has been a concerted effort by the international scientific community to develop genomic tools and resources for grapevine culminating in its complete genome sequence. These efforts and their usefulness for grapevine breeding or viticulture improvement are reviewed and discussed in this book by globally reputed scientists in the field.

Anne-Franoise Adam-Blondon is currently leading the "Grapevine and Forest Trees Genomics" team since 2004. She is vice deputy of the Genetics and Breeding Department of the French, National Institute for Agronomical Research (INRA) since 2010. She has carried out researches in the field of grapevine genetics since 1995 from the time she was hired by INRA. In 2002, she started to develop genomic tools for grapevine and, as such, was one of the coordinators of the French-Italian public effort for the sequencing of the grapevine genome: Jos M. Martnez-Zapater is Research Professor of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and currently Director of the Institute for Grapevine and Wine Research in La Rioja (Spain). His research activity has focused on the genetic and molecular analysis of plant reproductive biology using model systems as Arabidopsis as well as crop species. In recent-years he is involved with the study-of grapevine reproductive biology and its impact on grape and wine quality and has collaborated, in the development and application of genomic tools for the genetic improvement of this crop.