Rootstock effects on scion phenotypes in a ‘Chambourcin’ experimental vineyard

• Published in: Horticulture research 2019-05, Vol.6 (1), p.64-13, Article 64
• Main Authors: Migicovsky, Zoë, Harris, Zachary N., Klein, Laura L., Li, Mao, McDermaid, Adam, Chitwood, Daniel H., Fennell, Anne, Kovacs, Laszlo G., Kwasniewski, Misha, Londo, Jason P., Ma, Qin, Miller, Allison J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/449; 631/449/1870; 631/449/2675; Agricultural development; Agricultural practices; Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Crop resilience; Ecology; Gene expression; Grafting; Irrigation; Leaves; Life Sciences; Morphology; Phenotypes; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Sciences; Rootstocks; Variation; Vines
• ISSN: 2052-7276; 2052-7276
• DOI: 10.1038/s41438-019-0146-2

Understanding how root systems modulate shoot system phenotypes is a fundamental question in plant biology and will be useful in developing resilient agricultural crops. Grafting is a common horticultural practice that joins the roots (rootstock) of one plant to the shoot (scion) of another, providing an excellent method for investigating how these two organ systems affect each other. In this study, we used the French-American hybrid grapevine ‘Chambourcin’ ( Vitis L.) as a model to explore the rootstock–scion relationship. We examined leaf shape, ion concentrations, and gene expression in ‘Chambourcin’ grown ungrafted as well as grafted to three different rootstocks (‘SO4’, ‘1103P’ and ‘3309C’) across 2 years and three different irrigation treatments. We found that a significant amount of the variation in leaf shape could be explained by the interaction between rootstock and irrigation. For ion concentrations, the primary source of variation identified was the position of a leaf in a shoot, although rootstock and rootstock by irrigation interaction also explained a significant amount of variation for most ions. Lastly, we found rootstock-specific patterns of gene expression in grafted plants when compared to ungrafted vines. Thus, our work reveals the subtle and complex effect of grafting on ‘Chambourcin’ leaf morphology, ionomics, and gene expression. Horticulture: dissecting the effects of grafting Researchers in the US have uncovered how rootstocks affect scions following grafting, which will help to develop more resilient crops. A team led by Allison Miller of Saint Louis University grafted the ‘Chambourcin’ grape variety onto three different rootstocks and investigated the effect on leaf shape, ion concentration, and gene expression in the scion. They discovered that the rootstock influenced how leaf shape changed in response to different irrigation conditions. A similar irrigation-dependent effect of rootstock was found for the ion composition in the shoot. The team also identified roughly 100 genes with altered expression in each of the grafted vines, including five genes which were altered by all three graft combinations. These findings are a first step toward understanding the relationship between rootstocks and scions and modulating it to produce crops better adapted to challenging environments.