Viticulture is increasingly challenged by the decline of woody perennial crops, with grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) representing the most serious biological threat to vineyard longevity and productivity worldwide. GTDs comprise a complex of fungal pathogens that degrade grapevine wood, reduce yield and quality, and ultimately cause plant death. Despite decades of research, effective curative solutions remain unavailable, creating major economic pressure on wine-producing regions. This challenge is particularly relevant in the current political and strategic context, where European and international policies call for reduced chemical inputs and the development of sustainable, nature-based plant protection strategies.Over the past century, grapevine cultivation has relied heavily on agrochemicals and management practices such as fungicide use, grafting and clonal propagation. While these practices have supported productivity, growing evidence shows that they have profoundly altered the grapevine-associated microbiome. Such human-driven changes are believed to have disrupted naturally balanced endophytic microbial communities, potentially weakening host resilience and facilitating the recent emergence and spread of GTD-associated pathogens.Wild populations of Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris (VVS) offer a unique ecological reference, as they have evolved largely outside modern viticultural practices. These populations therefore host endophytic microbiomes that are minimally affected by anthropogenic pressures. Studying these systems provides a rare opportunity to identify key microbial components associated with grapevine health and to assess whether they can be reintroduced into cultivated grapevines to restore microbiome balance and improve disease tolerance.
Building on this premise, the overall objective of this project is to translate microbial diversity from wild grapevines into innovative, microbiome-based solutions for GTD management. First, the project characterizes the endophytic microbiome of wild VVS populations across multiple European regions using DNA metabarcoding and microbial isolation, establishing both ecological baselines and a curated collection of fungal and bacterial endophytes. Second, synthetic microbiome transfers are performed to evaluate whether selected endophytic consortia can successfully establish in cultivated grapevines and reshape the wood microbiome. Finally, the project pioneers a community-level approach to biological control by testing multi-species microbial consortia for their ability to enhance plant growth, survival, graft union formation, and tolerance to key GTD pathogens, particularly Phaeomoniella chlamydospora.
The expected impacts of this project are significant at both scientific and societal levels. Scientifically, it advances understanding of grapevine endophyte ecology and the role of microbial communities in woody plant health. Strategically, it contributes to the development of sustainable disease management approaches aligned with environmental policies aimed at reducing pesticide use. At scale, successful microbiome-based interventions could extend vineyard lifespan, reduce economic losses associated with GTDs, and support the long-term sustainability of viticulture in Europe and non-European wine-producing regions. In this way, the project sets the scene for a paradigm shift from pathogen-focused control toward ecosystem-based plant health management.
