Grapevine Potassium Nutrition and Fruit Quality in the Context of Climate Change

Abstract

Potassium (K + ) nutrition is of relevant interest for winegrowers because it influences grapevine growth, berry composition, as well as must and wine quality. Indeed, wine quality strongly depends on berry composition at harvest. However, K + content of grape berries increased steadily over the last decades, in part due to climate change. Currently, the properties and qualities of many fruits are also impacted by environment. In grapevine, this disturbs berry properties resulting in unbalanced wines with poor organoleptic quality and low acidity. This requires a better understanding of the molecular basis of K + accumulation and its control along grape berry development. This mini-review summarizes our current knowledge on K + nutrition in relation with fruit quality in the context of a changing environment.

Vitis vinifera L. Diversity for Cations and Acidity Is Suitable for Breeding Fruits Coping With Climate Warming

“…Considering the diversity of genotypes and environments of this study, the variability for K + content in the ripe fruit is quite moderate, suggesting a strong homeostasis for this element. There have been significant advances in the understanding of the mechanisms of K + transport and accumulation in the last 10 years (Rogiers et al, 2017;Villete et al, 2020). Compared to other reports, our data reveals 2 interesting biological features: i) the low increase of K + concentration during ripening and ii) the lack of environmental effect, when compared to sugars (Bigard et al, 2018).…”

Some aspects of metal ion transport and <em>in silico</em> gene expression analysis of potassium/sodium ion transporters, channels and exchangers in root nodules

“…The symbiotic signaling pathway starts with the oscillations of calcium ion concentration (Ca 2+ ) in the nucleus of root cells (Oldroyd, 2013). Nod factor-induced Ca 2+ oscillations have been observed in M. truncatula (Wais et al, 2000), Pisum sativum (Walker et al, 2000), Phaseolus vulgaris (Cardenas et al, 1999) and Lotus japonicus (Harris et al, 2003). In a recent study, Granqvist et al (2015) analyzed calcium responses in a variety of legumes and also in the nodulating non-legumes Parasponia andersonii and Alnus glutinosa.…”

Adjustment of K+ Fluxes and Grapevine Defense in the Face of Climate Change

“…In plants, K + translocation processes are achieved by the fine control of a specialized network of K + transport systems, whose members can differ in transport affinity, energetic coupling, voltage-sensitivity or ionic selectivity [ 7 , 8 , 13 ]. Among the many plant K + transporters and channels, Shaker-like voltage-dependent K + channels have been extensively studied [ 7 , 8 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. These ion channels allow large passive fluxes of K + that dominate the K + conductance at the cell plasma membrane and are implicated in the control of long-distance K + transport [ 7 , 8 ], Mechanistically, such voltage-gated K + channels mediate the inwardly or outwardly rectifying K + fluxes of the plasma membrane according to the electro-chemical gradient, thus allowing the inward or outward K + translocation of the cell [ 7 , 8 ].…”

“…This means that the entire period of berry ripening has been shifted toward warmer periods. Moreover, plants must endure more frequent heat waves associated with excessive solar radiation and soil dehydration, which leads to plant transpiration and water stress [ 14 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. The current climate constraints directly increase K + loading in the berry.…”

“…The current climate constraints directly increase K + loading in the berry. This excess K + during ripening leads to a decrease in grape acidity at harvest [ 14 , 15 , 27 , 28 ]. In addition, an increase of sugar loading in the berry is observed [ 29 ].…”