Here, we report the surprising and, to our knowledge, unique example of horizontal interkingdom transfer of a human opportunistic pathogen (Propionibacterium acnes) to a crop plant (the domesticated grapevine Vitis vinifera L.). Humans, like most organisms, have established a long-lasting cohabitation with a variety of microbes, including pathogens and gut-associated bacteria. Studies which hav...

The berry size is one of the most important fruit traits in grapevine breeding. Non-invasive, image-based phenotyping promises a fast and precise method for the monitoring of the grapevine berry size. In the present study an automated image analyzing framework was developed in order to estimate the size of grapevine berries from images in a high-throughput manner. The framework includes (i) the...

Grapevine leaf synthesizes a wide variety of bioactive secondary metabolites, including polyphenols, which are also key components in ensuring development and growth of the whole plant even under adverse environmental conditions. Our study evaluates the nonanthocyanin polyphenolic composition in grapevine leaves of three varieties of Gohér conculta (Vitis vinifera L.) native to Hungary. A high ...

The Raspberry ringspot virus (RpRSV), first reported in raspberries (Rubus idaeus) in Scottland, is also a causative agent in Germany of the grapevine fanleaf disease and the Pfeffinger disease of sweet cherries. The RpRSV belongs to the genus nepovirus in the Comoviridae family, has polyhedral particles and is transmitted in the soil via nematodes. Different strains of RpRSV have been identifi...

Th e infl uence of partial defoliation performed at diff erent grapevine growth stages on yield components, vegetative growth and fruit composition of ‘Istrian Malvasia’ (‘Malvazija istarska’) vines was investigated. During two consecutive seasons partial defoliation was performed manually at three grapevine growth stages; before bloom (BB), aft er bloom (AB), and at the beginning of bunch clos...

Plants are colonized by diverse assemblages of fungal endophytes that have potential as biocontrol agents for a variety of crops, including grapevine. Although the diversity of symbionts can be very high in wild plants, the fungal endophytes of wild Vitis plants have not yet been investigated. We surveyed the fungal endophytes of 6 wild populations of Vitis riparia, as well as a cold-tolerant, ...

Eutypa lata is the causal fungal agent of Eutypa dieback, a serious grapevine necrotic disease. The erratic and delayed (1 to 2 months) appearance of characteristic conidia on culture media and the presence of numerous microorganisms in decaying wood make it difficult either to identify or to detect E. lata in grapevine wood samples. We designed six pairs of PCR primers for diagnosis of E. lata...

Grapevine Algerian latent virus (GALV) is a member of the genus Tombusvirus in the Tombusviridae and infects not only woody perennial grapevine plant but also herbaceous Nicotiana benthamiana plant. In this study, we developed GALV-based gene expression and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) vectors in N. benthamiana. The GALV coat protein deletion vector, pGMG, was applied to express the repo...

In vitro inoculation of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Chardonnay explants with a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium, Burkholderia phytofirmans strain PsJN, increased grapevine growth and physiological activity at a low temperature. There was a relationship between endophytic bacterial colonization of the grapevine plantlets and their growth at both ambient (26 degrees C) and low (4 degrees C) temper...

For some crops, the only possible approach to gain a specific trait requires genome modification. The development of virus-resistant transgenic plants based on the pathogen-derived resistance strategy has been a success story for over three decades. However, potential risks associated with the technology, such as horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of any part of the transgene to an existing gene po...