Climate Change, Crop Wild Relatives and Genomic Data: The persistence and agronomic utility of five Vitis species

Crop wild relatives (CWRs) have the capacity to contribute novel traits to agriculture. Given climate change, these contributions may be especially vital for perennial crops, because perennials are often clonally propagated and consequently do not evolve rapidly. By studying the landscape genomics of five Vitis CWRs (V. arizonica, V. mustangensis, V. riparia, V. berlandieri and V. girdiana) in the context of projected climate change, we addressed two goals. The first was assessing the relative potential of different CWRs to persist in the context of climate change. By integrating species distribution models with adaptive genetic variation, additional genetic features such as genomic load, and a phenotype (resistance to Pierce Disease), we predicted that accessions of V. mustangensis are particularly well-suited to persist. The second goal was identifying candidate CWRs to contribute to bioclimatic adaptation for grapevine (V. vinifera) cultivation. To do so, we first estimated that ~40% of current viticulture sites in the United States will be vulnerable to climate change, based on species distribution models projected to 2070. We then predicted which CWRs have the genomic profile to contribute to bioclimatic adaptation at these vulnerable sites. We identified rootstock candidates from V. mustangensis, V. riparia and V. girdiana and hypothesized that they may prove useful for mitigating climate impacts on viticulture. By identifying candidate germplasm, this work takes a conceptual step toward mitigating the climate impacts on crops by utilizing the genomic and bioclimatic characteristics of CWRs.