Large scale re-sequencing in the Vitis genus for identification of resistance genes, SNP discovery and high throughput genotyping

Research project of Transnational Plant Alliance for Novel Technologies toward implementing the Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (PLANT - KBBE2008) in Europe (France, Germany and Spain)

The aim of this project is to take advantage of the existence of the grapevine genome sequence to develop strategies and comprehensive tools for allele mining in the Vitaceae gene pool and genetic improvement of grapevine for resistance to disease.

Two main approaches will be developed.
The first one will allow targeting regions known to undergo fast structural rearrangements. It will combine the development of a draft sequence (pyrosequencing, 454/Roche) of a V. cinerea x V. riparia F1 hybrid and BAC end sequences (BES) in order to quickly identify regions involved into important traits, such as disease resistance.
The second approach, will aim at the development of a large EU SNP resource, which will be the basis to the development of high throughput genotyping tools for breeding and of association genetics studies. A microarray-based method will be employed to trap all the predicted exons and UTR of the grapevine genome in 15-20 individuals in order to re-sequence them using the Solexa/Illumina platform.
Finally, high throughput genotyping chips will be developed.