From soil to canopy: the diversity of adaptation strategies to drought in grapevine

• Published in: OENO one Vol. 59; no. 3
• Main Authors: Nathalie Ollat, Marina de Miguel, Clément Saint Cast, Elisa Marguerit, Philippe Vivin, Virginie Lauvergeat, Cornelis van Leeuwen, Sarah J. Cookson, Philippe Gallusci, Gregory A. Gambetta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Viticulture and Enology Society 01.07.2025
• Subjects: grapevine; hydraulic traits; microbiome; roots; stress memory; Vitis spp
• ISSN: 2494-1271
• DOI: 10.20870/oeno-one.2025.59.3.8510

One of the main consequences of climate change is the increase in frequency and severity of abiotic stresses, which mostly occur in combination. Grapevine, which grows under a wide variety of pedo-climatic conditions, has acquired different adaptive mechanisms during its evolution. Harnessing the genetic diversity of these mechanisms is key to the future adaptation of viticulture to climate change in many traditional wine growing areas. The interactions between scion and rootstock through grafting represent an additional level of diversity and adaptive potential to be explored. At the physiological level, these mechanisms are related to processes such as root system development and function (water and nutrient uptake, transport and storage), gas exchange regulation, hydraulic properties along the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, reserve storage, short- and long-distance signalling mechanisms and plasticity. At the molecular level, hormonal, osmotic and oxidative metabolisms are involved. Interactions with microorganisms also contribute to the adaptive potential of the plant. As a whole, adaptation to any constraint appears to be the result of the complex interactions of these processes. Based on a literature review of studies on grapevine and other plants, and on investigations performed in our own laboratory, the present overview explores the diversity of adaptive responses to drought, how these responses characterise different adaptation strategies, and how these strategies can be leveraged for the selection of new genotypes for the future growing conditions.