A collaborative study by 89 scientists, including the Chinese, proved that the domestication of different wild grape ecotypes occurred simultaneously in Western Asia and the Caucasus about 11 years ago, and table and wine grape vines emerged.
The findings of the research were covered by Science magazine as the cover story.
According to the article, the grapes dispersed to Europe with early farmers in Western Asia, interbreeding with ancient wild West ecotypes. Then, in the late Neolithic, along human migration routes, the muscat and unique western wine grapes diversified into their ancestors. Analyzes of domestication traits also reveal new insights into selection for fruit flavor, hermaphroditism, musk flavor, and skin colour.
Professor at Yunnan Agricultural University. Dong Yang and his team collected nearly 5 grape genetic resources worldwide, spent three years completing the genome analysis, and mapped the reference genome of cultivated vines. The team said their research results support functional genome research and grape breeding.