Although there are many species of grapevine throughout the world, and as many varieties of each species, almost all grapes produced for wine, juice, jams, raisins, or table use are either of European or North American origin. Of these grapes, almost 95% of them are of Vitis vinifera origin, the European species. This species has varieties used for wine-making (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Carignane), other varieties grown for table grapes (Emperor, Tokay, Perlette, and Ribier), and several varieties that are grown for the dried fruit market (Thompson Seedless, Black Corinth, Muscat of Alexandria). The two species of North American grapes which are economically important are Vitis labrusca (var. Concord) and Vitis rotundifolia.
Anthocyanin production in grapes is of particular importance because much of the economic value of a grape crop is due to it's taste and color attributes. Although the main components of ripe grapes are glucose and fructose, the relatively minute quantities of organic acids and anthocyanins contribute significantly to the taste and color properties. Historically, viticultural practices have been developed to control the traits for vinyard yields. However, there are many factors which affect the harvest chemistry of grapes. The species and variety of grape determine the potential chemical content, since anthocyanin production is genetically determined. However, the maturity of the grapes, the seasonal conditions, the soil conditions, and the overall fruit yield effect the types and amounts of anthocyanins produced within the grapes. The process of making wine will further affect the anthocyanin content, but this case study focuses in planta.
Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety of Vitis vinifera L., a European variety. It is grown in Mediterranean type climates and is used for wine-making. The pigments within this variety have been characterized repeatedly, due to its economic importance. The first studies on grape anthocyanins done in the early 1900s used thin-layer chromatography methods to qualitatively identify compounds within Cabernet Sauvignon berries. In the 1970s, the development of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods increased the number of compounds that were identifiable and gave us the ability to readily quantitate differences between species.
Cabernet Sauvignon grapes produce delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, peonidin, and malvidin as well as the monoglucosides, acetyl glucosides, and coumaroyl glucosides of these anthocyanins. Other varieties have dramatically different anthocyanin profiles, with considerable variation in the derivatives, including diglucosides, and acylated diglucosides. Many climatic and nutritional factors can affect the production of anthocyanins. Traditional studies of anthocyanin production in grapes have focused on the effects of abiotic factors, infection with pathogens, insect infestations, and management practices, such as irrigation and pruning, on the final anthocyanin content in the berries. However, in the last two to three years, the advent of new methods has resulted in the ability to investigate the production of anthocyanins at the enzymatic level and at the level of gene expression.
Boss et al. (1996a) published the first rigorous analysis of the expression of anthocyanin pathway genes in Vitis vinifera. They studied the expression of seven genes of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway: phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), chalcone synthase (CHS), chalcone isomerase (CHI), flavanone-3-hydroxylase (F3H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase (LDOX), and UDP glucose-flavonoid 3-o-glucosyl transferase (UFGT). The regulation of these genes has been studied developmentally (Boss et al. 1996a) and comparisons have been made between some species (Boss et al. 1996b). The next step will be to study the regulation of these genes under environmental constraints and when the plants are infected with pathogens or infested with insects.
Environmental Constraints that Effect Anthocyanin Production
****Here I am just going to list all of my studies showing what does what in Cabernet Sauvignon…'cuz it's all over the place, lots of info…and I'm tired. J
[LINK TO GRAPE BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAY]
REFERENCES
Boss PK, Davies C, and Robinson SP. 1996a. Analysis of the expression of anthocyanin pathway genes in developing Vitis vinifera L. cv Shiraz grape berries and the implications for pathway regulation. Plant Physiology 111:1059-1066.
Boss PK, Davies C, and Robinson SP. 1996b. Expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway genes in red and white grapes. Plant Molecular Biology 32:565-569.
Boss PK, Gardner RC, Janssen B, and Ross GS. 1995. An apple polyphenol oxidase cDNA is up-regulated in wounded tissues. Plant Molecular Biology 27:429-433.
Calderon AA, Pedreno MA, Munoz R, and Barcelo AR. 1993. Evidence for non-vauolar localization of anthocyanoplasts (anthocyanin-containing vesicles) in suspension cultured grapevine cells. Phyton 54(2):91-98.
Cormier F, Do CB, and Nicolas Y. 1994. Anthocyanin production in selected cell lines of grape (Vitis vinifera L.). In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology 30P:171-173.
Crippen DD, Jr., and Morrison JC. 1986a. The effects of sun exposure on the compositional development of Cabernet Sauvignon berries. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 37(4):235-242.
Crippen DD, Jr., and Morrison JC. 1986b. The effects of sun exposure on the phenolic content of Cabernet Sauvignon berries during development. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 37(4):243-247.
Davies C, Boss PK, and Robinson SP. 1997. Treatment of grape berries, a nonclimacteric fruit with a synthetic auxin, retards ripening and alters the expression of developmentally regulated genes. Plant Physiology 115:1155-1161.
Do CB, and Cormier F. 1991. Effects of low nitrate and high sugar concentrations on anthocyanin content and composition of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cell suspension. Plant Cell Reports 9:500-504.
Florenciano EG, Calderon AA, Munoz R, and Barcelo AR. 1992. Patterns of anthocyanin deposition in vacuoles of suspension cultured grapevine cells. Phyton 53(1):47-50.
Ford CM, Boss PK, and Hoj PB. 1998. Cloning and characterization of Vitis vinifera UDP-glucose:flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase, a homologue of the enzyme encoded by the maize bronze-1 locus that may primarily serve to glucosylate anthocyanidins in vivo. The Journal of Biological Chemistry 273(15):9224-9233.
Hunter JJ, Ruffner HP, Volschenk CG, and Le Roux DJ. 1994. Partial defoliation of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon/99 Richter: effect on root growth, canopy efficiency, grape composition, and wine quality. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 46(3):306-314.
Iacono F, Porro AD, Scienza A, and Stringari G. 1995. Differential effects of canopy manipulation and shading of Vitis vinifera L. Cv. Cabernet Sauvignon: plant nutritional status. Journal of Plant Nutrition 18(9):1785-1796.
Johnston TV, and Morris JR. 1997. HPLC Analysis of Cabernet Sauvignon and Noble wine pigment fractions. Journal of Food Science 62(4):684-687.
Mazza G, and Miniati E. 1993. Anthocyanins in fruits, vegetables, and grains. CRC Press, Inc. Boca Raton, Florida, 362 pp.
Ruhl EH, Fuda AP, and Treeby MT. 1992. Effect of potassium, magnesium and nitrogen supply on grape juice composition of Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon vines. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 32:645-649.
Sakuta M, Hirano H, Kakegawa K, Suda J, Hirose M, Joy RW IV, Sugiyama M, and Komamine A. 1994. Regulatory mechanisms of biosynthesis of betacyanin and anthocyanin in relation to cell division activity in suspension cultures. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 38:167-169.
Smart RE, Smith SM, Winchester RV. 1988. Light quality and quantity effect on fruit ripening for Cavernet Sauvignon. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 39(3):250-258.
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