Improving freeze tolerance of Vitis under a changing climate

抗寒性研究对于酿酒葡萄（葡萄属）等高价值作物至关重要。气候变化的威胁。多年生木本植物在自然界中是静止的，并已进化出越冬机制。在休眠期间，植物获得和丧失耐冷性，这是一个高度动态的性质，许多物理，生理和代谢的变化。抗寒性遵循一个可预测的季节模式，其中包括在晚秋冷驯化，在冬季最大的抗寒性时期，并在春季萌芽前冷去驯化。基因型和环境条件影响休眠和抗寒性反应。一些植物的适应期已得到了很好的研究，但对木本植物如葡萄属植物的去适应期的抗寒性及其机制还不清楚。在去适应阶段，植物可以恢复抗逆性（重新适应），这是一种更不为人所知的现象。因此，需要一个研究计划，以了解驯化，去驯化和再驯化能力如何受到环境条件和不同葡萄属基因型的变化的影响的潜在机制。此外，关于植物激素脱落酸、去适应和再适应期间的潜在信号传导和激素途径以及抗寒性相关代谢物（如特异性抗冷蛋白质和碳水化合物）的相关变化，存在知识空白。因此，本研究的长期目标是全面了解葡萄属植物在不同休眠期的抗寒机制及其相关的分子、生理和代谢变化。其目标是提高葡萄藤的耐寒性和对气候变化影响的弹性，以确保水果和葡萄酒生产的可持续性。这可以通过用生长调节剂处理植物和通过鉴定潜在的抗寒性相关的标记来实现，所述标记可以用于“最佳类别”栽培品种、克隆和砧木选择。 实现这一长期目标的第一步是深入了解参与冷去适应和再适应以及相应的抗寒代谢产物的潜在信号传导和激素途径。因此，本研究的近期目标是：1）跟踪和分析不同基因型葡萄属在去驯化/再驯化过程中目标基因的表达。2)比较外源阿坝类似物（包括已知的抗寒增强剂和阿坝拮抗剂）对不同基因型葡萄属休眠和抗寒性的处理效果。3)研究了不同基因型葡萄属在抗寒性增强剂阿坝类似物和阿坝拮抗剂ABA处理后，抗寒性的变化与分子生物学变化之间的关系。

Cold hardiness research is critical for high-value crops such as wine grapes (Vitis spp.) with the threat of climate change. Perennial woody plants are stationary in nature and have evolved mechanisms to overwinter. During dormancy, plants gain and lose cold tolerance and it is highly dynamic in nature with many physical, physiological and metabolic changes. Cold hardiness follows a predictable seasonal pattern which includes cold acclimation in late fall, a period of maximum hardiness in winter, and cold deacclimation in the spring prior to bud break. Both genotype and environmental conditions impact dormancy and cold hardiness responses. The acclimation phase has been well studied in some plants, but cold hardiness and its mechanisms are not well understood for the deacclimation phase in woody plants such as Vitis spp. During the deacclimation phase, plants can gain back hardiness (reacclimation), an even less understood phenomenon. Therefore, a research program is required to understand the underlying mechanisms of how acclimation, deacclimation and reacclimation capacity are affected by changes in environmental conditions and in different Vitis genotypes. Furthermore, there is a gap of knowledge concerning the plant hormone abscisic acid, potential signaling and hormonal pathways during deacclimation and reacclimation and associated changes in cold hardiness related metabolites such as specific dehydrin proteins and carbohydrates. Therefore, the long-term objective of my research program is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of cold hardiness and associated molecular, physiological and metabolic changes in Vitis during different phases of dormancy. The goal is to improve grapevine cold tolerance and resiliency to the effects of climate change to ensure sustainability in fruit and wine production. This may be accomplished by treating plants with growth regulators and through identification of potential cold-hardiness-related markers that may be used for "best in class" cultivar, clonal and rootstock selection. A first step of achieving this long-term goal is to gain insights into potential signaling and hormonal pathways involved in cold deacclimation and reacclimation as well as corresponding cold hardiness metabolites. Therefore, the short-term objectives are: 1) Follow and analyze the expression of targeted genes during deacclimation/reacclimation of different Vitis genotypes. 2) Compare treatment effects of exogenous applications of ABA analogs, including a known cold hardiness enhancer and an ABA antagonist, on dormancy and cold tolerance of different Vitis genotypes. 3) Elucidate relationships between cold hardiness changes during deacclimation and reacclimation phases and molecular and biochemical changes of different Vitis genotypes treated with ABA analogs known as a cold hardiness enhancer as well as an ABA antagonist.