The mission of the grape gene reference catalogue is to collect literature and metadata to centralize in one single resource, gene-centered data. It currently has an approximate total of 2,000 genes (Navarro-Payá et al. 2022) with assigned gene symbols corresponding to a function. This is still far from the total count of catalogue in other model plant species such as Arabidopsis thaliana. With a similar protein-coding gene count to Vitis vinifera, over 10,000 gene symbols are currently reported in TAIR, which allow referring to a gene by its function rather than a genomic id. Catalogue innitiatives are really important for research communities. An interesting review covering this importance can be found in a recent work in Nature describing the human gene catalogue. Using gene names instead of symbols in grapevine would alleviate some of the confusion derived from the numerous genome assemblies and annotations used to mention genes. Even though grapevine is not a model species and hence has comparatively fewer functional studies, a search through the literature points to the fact that many gene families have already been looked at in enough detail to warrant gene naming. We estimate that if the current functional information is incorporated into the catalogue a final total between 4,000 and 6,000 genes could be achieved.
As part of the Grapedia initiative we kindly invite you to attend the upcoming grape catalogue workshop on the dates and times outlined below. We encourage you, as part of the grapevine community, to contribute to the grape gene reference catalogue by submitting gene names and descriptions for your genes of interest. This is particularly relevant to those researchers who have previously characterized grape genes (in any vitis sp.) or gene families, using diverse techniques such as molecular biology methods, computational approaches, trait-associated studies (qtl and gwas), etc.
The main objective of workshop to engage the grapevine community in submitting gene names and descriptions to the catalogue. In fact, researchers that have explored gene function at an individual or family level are the most indicated to do so for their genes of study.
The online workshop sessions will last 1:30-2h depending on the number of attendees. The main aim will be to introduce the grape catalogue to you, but most importantly to assist you in submitting your gene names and descriptions of interest so that this information will be available in the broader context of the files and tools to be offered by the Grapedia platform, such as gene annotation files, qtl browsers and the Genecards app which can be temporarily found here.
Please register using the following form
You can choose one of the following sessions for online attendance (all sessions are identical). Choose based on your location:
20th of October 8:00 CET (early to late afternoon in Asia and Oceania)
20th of October 17:00 CET (early to late morning in North and South America)
23rd of October 8:00 CET (early to late afternoon in Asia and Oceania)
23rd of October 17:00 CET (early to late morning in North and South America)
Shortly after registration we will send you further details (video tutorial and list of participants).
