Genetic and Epigenetic Responses of Autochthonous Grapevine Cultivars from the ‘Epirus’ Region of Greece upon Consecutive Drought Stress
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
Grigorios Maniatis
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Eleni Tani
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Anastasios Katsileros
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Evangelia V. Avramidou
Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology, Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA (ELGO-DIMITRA), Ilisia, 11528 Athens, Greece
Theodora Pitsoli
Department of Vitis, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture (IOSV), Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA (ELGO-DIMITRA), Lykovrysi, 14123 Athens, Greece
Efi Sarri
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Maria Gerakari
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Maria Goufa
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Maria Panagoulakou
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Konstantina Xipolitaki
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Kimon Klouvatos
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Stamatia Megariti
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Polixeni Pappi
Laboratory of Plant Virology, Department of Viticulture, Vegetable Crops, Floriculture and Plant Protection, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture, Hellenic Agricultural Organization DIMITRA (ELGO-DIMITRA), Kastorias 32A, Mesa Katsampas, 71307 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Ioannis E. Papadakis
Laboratory of Pomology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Penelope J. Bebeli
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Aliki Kapazoglou
Department of Vitis, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture (IOSV), Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA (ELGO-DIMITRA), Lykovrysi, 14123 Athens, Greece
Within the framework of preserving and valorizing the rich grapevine germplasm of the Epirus region of Greece, indigenous grapevine (Vitis vinifera 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, VvMYB101, VvGATA-26-like, VvTOPLESS-4-like and (b) miRNA156 and putative target gene VvCONSTANS-5. 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 VvTOPLESS-4-like (a transcriptional co-repressor of transcription factors) upon drought and the concomitant up-regulation of miRNA159 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.
