Project description
Synthetic microbiome against grapevine trunk diseases
Over the past two decades, grapevine trunk diseases (GTD) have been increasingly affecting grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.). Undoubtedly, these diseases represent the biggest challenge for modern viticulture. Viticulturists have been employing fungicides, insecticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilisers for well over a century. According to recent research, these treatments may have caused an imbalance in the grapevine endophytic microbiome. This provides a possible explanation of the recent success of GTD-associated pathogens. The EU-funded WildWoodMicrobes project will combine plant pathology, epigenetics and microbial ecology and study wild populations of V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris (VVS). The project will unravel the endophytic microbiome diversity of wild populations of VVS, re-introduce endophytes isolated from VVS in cultivated grapevines, and assess the efficacy of the synthetic microbiome in antagonising GTD-associated pathogens.
Objective
In recent years, a general decline has been documented in several agriculturally relevant woody plants, and numerous
reports point towards a possible role of the plant-associated microbiome. This especially applies to grapevines (Vitis vinifera
L.) and to the recent outbreak of grapevine trunk diseases (GTD). This cluster of fungal diseases is considered the greatest
challenge in modern viticulture, due to the complexity of the different pathosystems and the lack of reliable control strategies.
During the last >100 years, vineyards have been routinely treated with fungicides, insecticides, herbicides and fertilizers.
Recent research have demonstrated that such treatments and other anthropic intervention (e.g. domestication, grafting,
training) affect the plant-associated microbiome. These human-driven alterations, exacerbated by grapevines clonal
propagation process, are believed to have led to an imbalance in grapevines endophytic microbiome, which may be a key
explanation for the recent success of GTD-associated pathogens. The best candidates to investigate the composition of a
balanced wood microbiome, unaffected by anthropic activities, are wild populations of V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris (VVS).
In this multidisciplinary project, I will join the fields of plant pathology, epigenetics and microbial ecology to (1) unravel the endophytic
microbiome diversity of wild populations of VVS, using DNA metabarcoding and in vitro isolation techniques; (2) re-introduce
endophytes isolated from VVS in cultivated grapevines, by means of a synthetic microbiome transfer; (3) assess the efficacy
of the synthetic microbiome in antagonizing GTD-associated pathogens, a next-generation approach to biological control.
The outcomes of this project will not only contribute to advance our understanding of grapevine endophytes ecology, but
have also the potential to provide a concrete solution to viticulture, for the benefit numerous European and non-European
countries.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
33100 Udine
Italy