Scientists at the Rochester Institute of Technology have mapped the DNA of bacteria that cause a common disease affecting grapevines. They’re hoping this will help protect the multibillion-dollar wine and grape industry from crown gall disease.
The disease causes tumors that occur at the crown of the vine…where the root and the shoot of the plant meet. It’s caused by a bacterium called Allorhizobium vitis, and it seriously affects production and quality of the grapes from infected vines.
An international team of RIT students and alumni sequenced 73 tumor samples from different grapevines, some from as close as Geneva, others from overseas. Their research paves the way to studies on how to manage or even cure the plant disease.