TISSUE CULTURE AND THE GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF GRAPEVINES: A REVIEW

Tissue culture of Vitis sp. has a history of 45 years.
Callus cultures were reported in the 1940s.
Aseptic culture of shoot tips for virus elimination was introduced in the 1960s and methods for micropropagation of grapevines, including fragmented apex culture, were developed in the 1970s.
Somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis in Vitis was achieved in the 1970s, as was the isolation of grapevine protoplasts.

Regeneration of plants from protoplasts has yet to be accomplished, and culture of anthers or pollen to produce haploid and homozygous diploid plants has made little progress.
So far, the most significant contribution of tissue culture to grape breeding is in "seedless-seedless hybridization"–embryo rescue prior to seed abortion in crosses with stenospermocarpic female parents.
Efforts are continuing in several laboratories (USA, Europe, Australia) to achieve genetic transformation in grapevines by use of Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer and by microprojectile technology.

Somaclonal variation has important potential applications for premium wine production.
This form of viticulture is based on traditional cultivars, and clonal selection (selection within cultivars) is the only practical means of genetic innovation.
There is evidence of somaclonal variation in wine grapes but its significance for clonal selection is not yet clear.

I International Symposium on In Vitro Culture and Horticultural Breeding

M. G. Mullins

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1990.280.2