Molecular Pathogens 2024, Vol.15, No.1, 40-49 http://microbescipublisher.com/index.php/mp 41 2 Overview of Grapevine Diseases 2.1 Common pathogens affecting grapevines Grapevines are susceptible to a variety of pathogens, with fungal and oomycete diseases being particularly prevalent. The most significant diseases include downy mildew (caused byPlasmopara viticola), powdery mildew (caused by Erysiphe necator), and grey mold (caused by Botrytis cinerea) (Agurto et al., 2017; Fröbel et al., 2019; Capriotti et al., 2020). These pathogens can cause severe damage to grapevine crops, leading to substantial economic losses (Figure 1). Figure 1 Infected grapevine plants (Adopted from Agurto et al., 2017) Image caption: Right: powdery mildew development on a susceptible genotype; Left: leaf of resistant segregant carrying RUN1 and/or REN1loci (Adopted from Agurto et al., 2017) 2.2 Economic and agricultural impact of diseases The economic impact of grapevine diseases is profound, as they can drastically reduce yield and quality. For instance, downy mildew and powdery mildew are responsible for significant yield losses and necessitate extensive use of fungicides, which increases production costs and poses environmental risks (Feechan et al., 2013; Wan et al., 2020). The reliance on chemical treatments conflicts with sustainable agricultural practices, highlighting the need for resistant grapevine cultivars (Peressotti et al., 2010). 2.3 Traditional methods of disease control Traditional methods of controlling grapevine diseases primarily involve the application of chemical fungicides. However, this approach has several drawbacks, including environmental pollution, development of pathogen resistance, and high costs. Breeding programs have also focused on introducing resistance genes from wild grapevine species into cultivated varieties. For example, resistance loci such as Rpv10, RUN1, and REN1 have been introgressed to confer resistance to downy and powdery mildew. Despite these efforts, the durability of resistance remains a challenge due to the adaptability of pathogens (Peressotti et al., 2010; Merdinoglu et al., 2018). By integrating genomic approaches, such as gene overexpression, gene silencing, and genome editing, breeding programs can enhance disease resistance in grapevines more effectively and sustainably (Yin et al., 2022). 3 Genomic Tools and Technologies 3.1 High-throughput sequencing High-throughput sequencing technologies have revolutionized the field of genomics by enabling the rapid and cost-effective sequencing of large genomes. In grapevine breeding, these technologies facilitate the identification
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