Australian scientists report breakthrough in development of salt resistant vines
Australian scientists have reported a major breakthrough in the development of vines resistant to salt, as part of the industry’s attempts to safeguard its future.
In their research, which has been funded by Wine Australia, the scientists from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at the University of Adelaide and CSIRO Agriculture and Food have been working to find a way of growing vines which are resistant to the impact of salt in soil. While low levels of salt can improve the flavour of wine, too much can lead to unpalatable tastes, reduce fruit yield and damage the long-term health of grapevines.
This week the team confirmed it had identified genes expressed in grapevine roots that limit the amount of sodium that reaches berries and leaves, paving the way for the development of a salt-resistant rootstock tailored specifically to conditions found in Australia soil.
“By comparing the DNA of different grapevines we identified a specific gene that is associated with sodium exclusion from shoots,” says co-first author Dr Jake Dunlevy from CSIRO. “This discovery has allowed us to develop genetic markers that are being used to breed more salt-tolerant grapevine rootstocks, allowing new genotypes to be screened at the seedling stage rather than through lengthy and expensive field-based vineyard trials.”
Salinity in soil has been calculated to cost Australia’s agriculture, food and wine sectors in excess of $1 billion each year.
“Berries that contain too much sodium may be unsuitable for wine production and this can lead to vineyards remaining unpicked, resulting in financial losses for vineyard owners,” added Dr Sam Henderson, co-first author of the study, from the University of Adelaide. “We set out to determine why some grapevines accumulate salt and others don’t, and found a specific mutation in a sodium transport protein found in grapevine roots, which prevents it from working effectively.”
The research was led by Dr Mandy Walker, CSIRO, and Professor Matthew Gilliham, University of Adelaide and published this week in the journal New Phytologist.