viticulture
Viticulture is the science and practice of cultivating grapevines for the purpose of producing grapes, encompassing everything from soil management and vine training to pest control and harvest timing. As a specialized branch of horticulture, it provides plant scientists with a rich model system for studying perennial woody crop physiology, disease resistance, and the genetic adaptation of plants to diverse climatic conditions. The remarkable environmental adaptability of the grapevine makes viticulture a valuable lens for understanding how cultivated plants respond to abiotic stress and changing growing conditions.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-05-04
Scientists discovered the first naturally occurring dwarf grapevine caused by a mutation in the brassinosteroid (plant growth hormone) pathway. They identified the responsible gene, confirmed its role using CRISPR gene editing, and found that disabling a second related gene creates an even more extreme compact vine.
A 9-base-pair deletion in the gene VviBR6OX1 is the primary cause of natural dwarfism in grapevine, identified by fine-mapping and RNA sequencing across grapevine germplasm.
CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of VviBR6OX1 successfully recreated the dwarf phenotype in engineered vines, confirming the gene's direct role in controlling vine architecture.
Simultaneous CRISPR editing of a second related gene, VviBR6OX2, produced an extreme compact dwarf phenotype beyond standard dwarfism, revealing a two-gene dosage effect on plant size.
