Plant
& Animal Genomes XVI Conference

January 12-16, 2008
Town & Country Convention
Center
San Diego, CA

W257 : Intl. Grape Genome Project

Association Genetic Studies In Grape

Loic Le
Cunff1 , Alexandre
Fournier-Level1 , Agnès
Doligez1 , Lucie
Fernandez1 , Charles Romieu1
, Laurent
Torregrosa1 , Agnès Ageorges2
, Véronique
Cheynier2 , Jean-Marc
Souquet2 , Nancy Terrier2
, Sylvia
Vezzulli3,1 , Laura
Costantini3 , Franscesco
Emanuelli3 , Stella M. Grando3
, Diego
Micheletti3 , Michela
Troggio3 , Riccardo
Velasco3 , Aurélie
Canaguier4 , Marco Moroldo4
, Anne-Françoise
Adam-Blondon4 , , Patrice This1

1  UMR 1097 DIA-PC, INRA -
Montpellier SupAgro, 2 place Viala, F-34060 Montpellier, France

2  UMR 1083 SPO , INRA, 2
place Viala, F-34060 Montpellier, France

3  IASMA research center,
Genetics and Molecular Biology Dept., via E. Mach 1 I-38010 San Michele
a/Adige (TN), Italy

4  UMRGV, INRA, 2, rue
Gaston Crémieux CP 5708, F-91057 EVRY cedex, France

Association genetic methods, based on the exploitation of
linkage disequilibrium (LD), are valuable tools for the dissection of complex
traits. In many plant species, they indeed have shown their usefulness for the
analysis of the genetic determinism of quantitative traits. Such strategies are
of even higher interest for perennial species, where their use allows to skip
the creation of new genetic material, which is time consuming. The publication
of the first high quality draft of the grapevine genome sequence opens the
prospect of an efficient exploitation of the natural genetic diversity through
association genetics. Such studies will become of high relevance for the grape
community.
The foundation of association genetic studies is the
characterization of genetic resources for the definition of highly polymorphic
core-collections (Le Cunff et al, submitted). Several studies aiming at the
characterization of the structure of the genetic variation along the genome and
in the grapevine genetic resources are also necessary to determine the extent of
usefulness of such methods in the species of interest. The talk will illustrate
different strategies for the exploitation of LD in grapevine and will focus on
the importance of the sample definition, in particular regarding its structure,
and on the importance of the LD evaluation on the results of association
studies.