Journal Article

Seed morphometrics unravels the evolutionary history of grapevine in France

Ben Makhad, Sammy, Preiss, Sidonie, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (UMR ISEM) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR226-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM), BioArchéologie, Interactions Sociétés Environnements (BioArch) ; Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), European Project: 852573,DEMETER, Flottes, Laurie, Hallavant, Charlotte, Bonhomme, Vincent, Pastor, Thierry, Laboratoire d'archéologie préhistorique et anthropologie ; Université de Genève = University of Geneva (UNIGE), Archeodunum, Archéologie, Terre, Histoire, Sociétés [Dijon] (ARTeHiS) ; Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Centre National de la

2024

Overview

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.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group,CCSD,Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 631/158/2462 / 631/181/1403 / 631/181/27 / 631/449/2492 / Agricultural sciences / Archaeobotany / Archaeology and Prehistory / Biodiversity / Biological Evolution / Botanics / Climate change / Cultivation / Culture / Development Biology / Diffusion / Domestication / Food consumption / Fourier transforms / France / Fruit cultivation / Fruits / Gene Flow / Genetics / Genotypes / Historic buildings & sites / History / Humanities and Social Sciences / Life Sciences / Morphogenesis / Morphology / Morphometrics / Morphometry / multidisciplinary / Mutation / Plant breeding / Plants genetics / Populations and Evolution / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Sciences and technics of agriculture / Seeds / Seeds - anatomy & histology / Seeds - genetics / Taphonomy / Urban areas / Vegetal Biology / Viticulture / Vitis - anatomy & histology / Vitis - genetics / Vitis vinifera / Wine / Wines
• ISBN: 0013545363002