Running towards resistance

CSIRO scientists in the Cooperative Research Centre for Viticulture (CRCV) are working to pinpoint a gene that can provide effective natural protection against grapevine powdery mildew.

Cultivated grapevines are susceptible to powdery mildew, but a wild grapevine species exists that is naturally resistant to infection.

By studying the inheritance of resistance through successive generations, French grapevine breeders have shown that resistance to powdery mildew can be controlled by a single gene.

CRCV researchers are identifying and isolating the gene, known as Resistance to Uncinula necator 1 (Run1), as a first step towards introducing natural resistance to powdery mildew into elite winegrape varieties.

In a major advance they have narrowed down the region of the genome that contains Run1 and found a small family of related genes within this region with a strong similarity to resistance type genes in other plant species.

Powdery mildew is the most damaging fungal disease of grapevines worldwide and is estimated to cost Australian growers over $80 million annually in chemical control and yield loss.

The financial and environmental costs of chemical application, coupled with the recent evolution of fungicide resistant strains, have made identifying natural sources of resistance a priority for the wine and grape industry worldwide.

This work is conducted by the CRC for Viticulture in collaboration with INRA (France) and is supported by the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation.

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