Identification of salt stress responsive genes in grapevine contributing to salt tolerance

Salinity of soil and irrigation water is a problem in some of Australia's grape-growing and wine-producing regions. Consequences of salinity include reductions in vegetative biomass, vigour and yield of grapevine, as well as wines that exceed the recommended limit of 607mg per litre chloride as specified by the Australian and New Zealand Food Authority.

This project continues from previous work by Gong et al. (2011) and aims to identify the molecular basis of salt exclusion in some grapevine rootstocks. Outcomes of this research may assist future efforts to breed new salt-excluding grapevine varieties or rootstocks. This is a collaborative project between University of Adelaide researchers Sam Henderson and Matthew Gilliham, and CSIRO Plant Industry's Rob Walker and colleagues.

Gong, H., D. Blackmore, P. Clingeleffer, S. Sykes, D. Jha, M. Tester, R. Walker (2011). Contrast in chloride exclusion between two grapevine genotypes and its variation in their hybrid progeny. Journal of Experimental Botany 62, 989-999.