The grapevine genome sequence suggests ancestral hexaploidization in major angiosperm phyla

The fourth genome sequence of a flowering plant, the second of a woody plant species and the first for a fruit crop. These important boxes are ticked by the genome sequence published in this issue. The new sequence is particularly revealing about the role of gene duplication in the evolution of the flowering plants. But the reason why non-geneticists will turn to it is more to do with its commercial application: the crop is the grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and the variety is Pinot Noir. A French and Italian consortium has produced sequence and analysis of Vitis vinifera PN40024, a grapevine originally derived from Pinot Noir. As you might expect, the grapevine has twice as many terpene synthases as other sequenced plants; these enzymes contribute to resins, essential oils and aromas. The analysis of the first plant genomes provided unexpected evidence for genome duplication events in species that had previously been considered as true diploids on the basis of their genetics1,2,3. These polyploidization events may have had important consequences in plant evolution, in particular for species radiation and adaptation and for the modulation of functional capacities4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Here we report a high-quality draft of the genome sequence of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) obtained from a highly homozygous genotype. The draft sequence of the grapevine genome is the fourth one produced so far for flowering plants, the second for a woody species and the first for a fruit crop (cultivated for both fruit and beverage). Grapevine was selected because of its important place in the cultural heritage of humanity beginning during the Neolithic period11. Several large expansions of gene families with roles in aromatic features are observed. The grapevine genome has not undergone recent genome duplication, thus enabling the discovery of ancestral traits and features of the genetic organization of flowering plants. This analysis reveals the contribution of three ancestral genomes to the grapevine haploid content. This ancestral arrangement is common to many dicotyledonous plants but is absent from the genome of rice, which is a monocotyledon. Furthermore, we explain the chronology of previously described whole-genome duplication events in the evolution of flowering plants.