August 27th 2007. A major advance in plant biology: the grapevine genome is completely sequenced

A major achievement has been reached in plant biology: the first detailed analysis of the grapevine genome has just been published. The joint effort carried out by scientists from Genoscope and INRA in France and from several universities and the Istituto di Genomica Applicata (IGA) in Italy has produced a high-quality draft of the genome sequence of Vitis vinifera, the first for a fruit crop, cultivated for both fruit and beverage. The results of this analysis allow a better understanding of plant evolution and genes involved in wine aromas. The details are published in the Nature paper of August 2007.

The article : The grapevine genome sequence suggests ancestral hexaploidization in major angiosperm phyla
  Jaillon, Olivier; Aury, Jean-Marc; Noel, Benjamin; Policriti, Alberto; Clepet, Christian; Casagrande, Alberto; Choisne, Nathalie; Aubourg, Sébastien; Vitulo, Nicola; Jubin, Claire; Vezzi, Alessandro; Legeai, Fabrice; Hugueney, Philippe; Dasilva, Corinne; Horner, David; Mica, Erica; Jublot, Delphine; Poulain, Julie; Bruyère, Clémence; Billault, Alain; Segurens, Béatrice; Gouyvenoux, Michel; Ugarte, Edgardo; Cattonaro, Federica; Anthouard, Véronique; Vico, Virginie; Del Fabbro, Cristian; Alaux, Michaël; di Gaspero, Gabriele; Dumas, Vincent; Felice, Nicoletta; Paillard, Sophie; Juman, Irena; Moroldo, Marco; Scalabrin, Simone; Canaguier, Aurélie; Le Clainche, Isabelle; Malacrida, Giorgio; Durand, Eléonore; Pesole, Graziano; Laucou, Valérie; Chatelet, Philippe; Merdinoglu, Didier; Delledonne, Massimo; Pezzotti, Mario; Lecharny, Alain; Scarpelli, Claude; Artiguenave, François; Pè, M. Enrico; Valle, Giorgio; Morgante, Michele; Caboche, Michel; Adam-Blondon, Anne-Françoise; Weissenbach, Jean; Quétier, Francis; Wincker, Patrick
  Nature, Volume 449, Issue 7161, pp. 463-467 (2007).
  DOI: 10.1038/nature06148

Press release (PDF) :

August 2007-Grapevine genome