Annabel Whibley, Ngarita Warden (Bragato Research Institute), Wayne Patrick (Victoria University of Wellington)
Bragato Research Institute (BRI) and Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) are collaborating on a project to understand genetic diversity among the Botrytis strains that infect our fruit. We are also interested in characterising the laccase enzymes produced by these strains, so that we can explore new ways to remove them during winemaking.
In last summer’s pilot study, we received samples from six vineyards across Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, and Marlborough, from which we were able to isolate and cultivate 11 different strains of Botrytis cinerea (Figure 1A). The BRI team then sequenced the entire genomes of these isolates to begin our dive into the genetic diversity of B. cinerea across New Zealand. Our widespread sampling approach is crucial to the project to understand the complex diversity of the laccases from the Botrytis strains that infect your grapes.
In parallel, the VUW team has focused on the main laccase from B. cinerea, isolated from an infected bunch of Gisborne Chardonnay fruit. We established protocols to purify this enzyme and measure its activity in vitro. We also modelled the atomic structure of the enzyme (Figure 1B), which allows us to predict the effects of the strain-specific differences we are seeing in the genome data.
This pilot study has been invaluable for building our pipeline, from isolating clonal strains of B. cinerea from infected fruit to genome analysis, to purifying individual laccase enzymes for biochemical characterisation. Now that we have established the project, we are excited to see where it goes next. Our current focus is on expanding our sampling to include more vineyards and grape varieties, and to use our genome sequencing data to guide our investigation of the other two major laccases produced by B. cinerea.
