Location: Grape Genetics Research Unit (GGRU)
Project Number: 8060-21220-007-003-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2016
End Date: Aug 31, 2021
Objective:
The objective of this cooperative project is to develop and use novel tissue culture and transformation systems for improving disease/pest resistance, adaptation to abiotic environment, fruit quality, and/or plant architecture traits in grapevines. A parellel objective is to evaluate the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tool for modifying genes of interest in grapevine.
Approach:
The co-PI in the Plant Biotechnology Resource and Outreach Center (PBROC) of Michigan State University (MSU) will conduct the Agency (USDA-ARS) proposed works in this agreement as a cooperator (MSU).
The project will be pursued in two phases. In the first phase, we will focus on development of a protoplast-based grapevine transformation and regeneration system. Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Chardonnay’ will be used as the testing material. We will evaluate various tissue culture and treatment conditions for generating protoplast and then regenerating vines from the protoplast. Once the system is established, the project will move to its second phase to use the system to introduce genomic variation into grapevine genomes and produce vines with desirable modification of the genes/traits of interest. The second phase of the project could be simultaneously pursued in parallel to the first phase of the project, once the protoplast is established.
