The research in my lab focuses on two main areas of grapes: 1) characterization of the transcriptional networks contributing to the control of grape berry ripening, 3) understanding the molecular mechanism of vine balance (vegetative [shoot] and reproductive [fruit] growth). 1) Characterization of the transcriptional network responsible for the control of grape berry ripening: The molecular mechanisms responsible for the control of ripening in non-climacteric fruits such as grapes, cherries and strawberries have not been characterized due to a more complex model than a single master switch, as it exists in climacteric fruits like tomato. Moreover, the inherent developmental variability of the non-climacteric models like grapes makes challenging the interpretation of results. In grapes, the maximum of biological variability (coexistence of underripe and riper berry classes), also named ripening asynchrony, is observed at the ripening onset (véraison). Yet, the same variability among berry classes tend to be minimized towards the maturity stage suggesting a natural mechanism, referred to as berry class synchronization, resulting in the likely enhancement of underripe berry classes compared to riper berry classes. This natural mechanism, which is specific to some extent to the genotype or cultivar, may hold the key to understand the control of berry ripening. Here at OSU, we developed, using “omics approaches”, a new model that studies this natural reduction of grape berry variability within a cluster towards maturity stages. This work not only will address the specific question of grape berry asynchrony but also will contribute to comprehend the overall mechanism associated with the ripening in non-climacteric fruits. 2) Understanding the vine balance in grapes. Because of its inherent genetics, grapevine is inclined to favor shoot growth during the growing season, which is at the expense of the reproductive growth and therefore the fruit quality. In this context, the balance between shoot growth and fruit yield is of significance importance to improve grape quality in general. My contribution in this scientific area is to identify the main molecular factors that determine the relationships between shoot and fruit growth in grapevine during the development of grape berry.
