The grapevine genepool is particularly threatened in the marginal areas of its distribution range. At the same time, grapevine genetic resources in the presumed area of its domestication (south-eastern Europe and particularly the Caucasus) and along the migration route across Europe are poorly known while enclosing still untapped diversity and richness. To address this challenge scientists and breeders need to work together at an international level to generate knowledge about the valuable diversity, its patterns, processes and correlations with traits such as resistance and grape quality. This COST Action will enable researchers from east and west European countries to work together to explore, on a large geographic scale and in a very wide range of countries, the genetic diversity and mobilize adaptive traits for breeding and sustainable use of this very valuable horticultural crop. Sharing experiences, responsibilities, information and materials for the development of phenotyping methods and association genetics studies in core collections will greatly improve the impact of the research conducted by each partner and will introduce innovative areas of research at the European level, creating beneficial knowledge, long-term conservation and a greater quality of grape production in Europe.
genetic resources - biodiversity - fingerprinting - phenotyping - conservation - interest genes
