Innovation

Under the microscope: Manuela Campa and her team wanted to rewrite grapevine DNA to reduce susceptibility to disease and drought.

Scientists at Stellenbosch University have successfully knocked out a gene linked to how grapevine plants respond to drought and disease. Manuela Campa, a lecturer in the genetics department at Stellenbosch University and lead researcher on this project, says this was only possible because of how genome technology has evolved.

Where early researchers had a rough map of the genome, modern scientists have access to much longer pieces of DNA and are discovering genetic information that old technology couldn't properly discern, she says. In 2007, the grapevine became the first fruit crop to have its genome sequenced. A multi-year project cost several million euros; this genome, Vitis vinifera, a variety of pinot noir, gave scientists the first detailed view of a grapevine’s genetic blueprint. But the result was millions of short DNA fragments that needed to be pieced together. In 2007, scientists used technology to figure out how to fit these fragments together, but now, technology is used to compare, analyse and find patterns in datasets, says Campa.