The Development of Cisgenic Grapevines

Cisgenic technology differs from transgenic technology in that it uses only genetic elements from the host plant to improve/modify specific traits.  Implementation of “cisgenics” requires availability of functional endogenous genes, promoters and terminators.  In grapevine, the sequenced genome of Vitis vinifera 'Pinot Noir' provides a wealth of information with which endogenous genetic elements can be readily identified and utilized.  We recovered and tested approximately 40 endogenous promoters. Several of these displayed constitutive activity comparable to the commonly-used d35S viral promoter.  The V. vinifera thaumatin-like protein gene (VvTL-1) was shown to confer broad spectrum fungal disease resistance in greenhouse and field trials. Recently, a novel PR-1 protein gene, recovered from a Vitis hybrid, displayed very high bacterial disease resistance when inserted into tobacco and now is being evaluated in grape field tests.  Efforts are ongoing to combine all of the endogenous elements necessary to create true cisgenic plants with improved agronomic performance.