Metatranscriptomic comparison of grape berry microbiome during noble and grey rot. Grape berries

Botrytis cinerea is well-known for causing gray rot (GR) of grapevine (Vitis vinifera). Under certain environmental conditions, however, B. cinerea can cause noble rot (NR) of berries, the basis for producing the sweet aszu wines. Little is known about the fungal and plant metabolic genes involved in NR and how they differ from GR.We analyze metatranscriptomic data generated from healthy (H), NR and GR grape berries collected from the Tokaj wine region in Hungary. Functional gene expression profiles of V. vinifera,, B. cinerea and other fungi are compared among rot types, sampling months, and physical characteristics of berries using multivariate analyses of variance, differential gene expressions, gene ontology and functional pathway enrichment.Our results show that harvest time influences functional gene profiles in NR and GR berries and that many differently expressed genes correspond to processes linked to sensory differences between NR and GR berries, with implications for wine makers.