Pinot Noir genome mapped

For the foodie and the geek in me, from The Biotech Weblog. The French-Italian Public Consortium for Grapevine Genome Characterization has released the grapevine genome sequence of Pinot Noir, a red wine grape variety which lend their flavour to both Burgundy and Champagne wines.

The finished sequence shows a huge expanse of terpene and tannin genes compared with other plant genomes studied so far, says team member Jean Weissenbach, who is based at Genoscope. The strain studied contains 70-80 terpene genes alone, he says. Studying these could lead to new styles to tickle the palate, Weissenbach suggests. “We may be able to find combinations of terpene genes which could provide new flavours,” he says.

The pinot noir genome contains about 30,000 genes in its DNA. The human genome contains 20-25,000 genes.