Seed morphometrics unravels the evolutionary history of grapevine in France

The cultivation of grapevines has spanned millennia, leading to thousands of varieties through exchanges, mutations, and crosses between genotypes, as well probably as gene flow from wild populations. These varieties are typically categorized by regional origin and primary use, either for wine production or fruit consumption. France, within the Western European group, hosts many of the world's renowned wine grape varieties. However, the historical development of cultivated grapevines in France and in the world remains poorly understood. This study applies morphometry on 19,377 charred and waterlogged archaeological grape pips to investigate the evolutionary history of grapevine in France over the last 10,000 years. The study compares seed outlines and lengths, corrected for taphonomic distortions, with a reference collection of 80 wild and 466 modern domestic grapevine accessions. Findings reveal a shift from wild grapevine exploitation to the expansion of domestic varieties around 600-500 BCE, coinciding with Mediterranean cultural influences and the introduction of eastern grape types. The identification of the East-Table group, a group of varieties of eastern origin for fruit consumption, indicates that grapes were also grown for food, especially in Mediterranean regions and near urban areas, alongside wine production. Early French viticulture featured a notable presence of Western European wine-type grapevines. The abundance of pips with wild-like morphology suggests early cultivation involved plants at an initial domestication stage and gene flow between introduced and wild grapevines. As viticulture spread northward, wild and Eastern morphotypes declined, leading to the dominance of Western European wine types in inner France during the Middle Ages.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2024-09-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-72692-6
Citations
11
Primary Topic
Horticultural and Viticultural Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
6.60

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article

Seed morphometrics unravels the evolutionary history of grapevine in France

Jean‐Frédéric Terral, Marie-France Dietsch-Sellami, Julian Wiethold, Éric Bonnaire et al.
11 citations
Scientific Reports
Horticultural and Viticultural Research
6.60
article

Seed morphometrics unravels the evolutionary history of grapevine in France

Jean‐Frédéric Terral, Marie-France Dietsch-Sellami, Julian Wiethold, Éric Bonnaire, Lucie Martin, Thierry Pastor, Françoise Toulemonde, Vincent Bonhomme, Bénédicte Pradat, Manon Cabanis, Véronique Matterne, Sidonie Preiss, Caroline Schaal, Charlotte Hallavant, Laurie Flottes, Núria Rovira, Margaux Tillier, Philippe Marinval, Thierry Lacombe, Marie-Pierre Ruas, Florian Jedrusiak, Allowen Evin, Isabel Figueiral, Laurent Bouby, M. Derreumaux, Sammy Ben Makhad, Sarah Ivorra, Raphael Pinaud, Roberto Baciliéri, Jérôme Ros, Christian Pagnoux, Frédérique Durand
article en
11 citations

Abstract

The cultivation of grapevines has spanned millennia, leading to thousands of varieties through exchanges, mutations, and crosses between genotypes, as well probably as gene flow from wild populations. These varieties are typically categorized by regional origin and primary use, either for wine production or fruit consumption. France, within the Western European group, hosts many of the world's renowned wine grape varieties. However, the historical development of cultivated grapevines in France and in the world remains poorly understood. This study applies morphometry on 19,377 charred and waterlogged archaeological grape pips to investigate the evolutionary history of grapevine in France over the last 10,000 years. The study compares seed outlines and lengths, corrected for taphonomic distortions, with a reference collection of 80 wild and 466 modern domestic grapevine accessions. Findings reveal a shift from wild grapevine exploitation to the expansion of domestic varieties around 600-500 BCE, coinciding with Mediterranean cultural influences and the introduction of eastern grape types. The identification of the East-Table group, a group of varieties of eastern origin for fruit consumption, indicates that grapes were also grown for food, especially in Mediterranean regions and near urban areas, alongside wine production. Early French viticulture featured a notable presence of Western European wine-type grapevines. The abundance of pips with wild-like morphology suggests early cultivation involved plants at an initial domestication stage and gene flow between introduced and wild grapevines. As viticulture spread northward, wild and Eastern morphotypes declined, leading to the dominance of Western European wine types in inner France during the Middle Ages.

Scientific ReportsVol. 14(1)
Université de Technologie de Compiègne (FR), University of Geneva (CH), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR), Université de Bourgogne (FR), Université Clermont Auvergne (FR), Université de Montpellier (FR), Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier (FR), Agropolis International (FR), Institute of Natural Sciences (BE), Université Paris Nanterre (FR), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (FR), Laboratoire de Géographie Physique et Environnementale (FR), Institut National de l'Énergie Solaire (FR), Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier (FR), University of Clermont Auvergne (FR), Ipso Facto (France) (FR), Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement (FR), Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (FR), Institut de Mécanique des Fluides de Toulouse (FR), Centre Hospitalier Compiègne-Noyon (FR), Archéologie et Archéométrie (FR), Amélioration Génétique et Adaptation des Plantes méditerranéennes et tropicales (FR), Musée Cantonal d'Archéologie et d'Histoire (CH), Archéozoologie et Archéobotanique (FR), Institut Agro Montpelier (FR), Ministère de la Culture (DZ), Clermont Université (FR), Archéologies et Sciences de l’Antiquité (FR), Travaux et Recherches Archéologiques sur les Cultures, les Espaces et les Sociétés (FR), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (FR), Archéorient (FR), Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Structure et Instabilité des Génomes (FR), Centre de Recherche en Archéologie, Archéosciences, Histoire (FR), Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes (FR), Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Mondes (FR), Archéologie, Terre, Histoire, Sociétés (FR), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (FR), Université de Rennes (FR), Université de Limoges (FR), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (FR), Université de Franche-Comté (FR), Nantes Université (FR)
European Commission, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, European Research Council
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Horticultural and Viticultural Research
6.60
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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