Challenge:
Structural variants (inversions, duplications, translocations) shape genome architecture during domestication, but their role in grapevine had not been systematically characterized.
Approach:
Analyzed 50 genomes of wild and cultivated grapevines to characterize structural variant diversity and its consequences during domestication, identifying patterns of selection shaping genome architecture.
Result:
Published in Nature Plants (2019). Contributing author. Revealed a reduction in deleterious protein-coding structural variants during domestication, providing evidence of purifying and positive selection shaping the grapevine genome.
