Donato Antonacci

Council for Agricultural Research and Agricultural Economy Analysis | CREA · Research Unit for Viticulture and Enology in Southern Italy (CRA-UTV)

Wine is one of the most traditional consumed alcoholic beverages in the world. Millions of wine enthusiasts worldwide duly appreciate a wine of excellent quality in terms of physicochemical and sensorial properties. Different classes of wines have different volatile compositions and sensorial properties, which can be altered, depending on the vinif...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Using Human Gene Expression Microarrays (Agilent) technologies, we investigated changes of the level of gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy subjects after 21 days of fresh table grape-rich diet and after an additional 28-day washout. Several hundreds of genes were differentially expressed after grape intake or after was...

Fourier-transform near infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR) is a technique used in the compositional and sensory analysis of foodstuffs. In this work, we have measured the main maturity parameters for grape (sugars and acids) using hundreds of intact berry samples to build models for the prediction of these parameters from berries of two very different v...

Using a transcriptomic approach, we performed a pilot study in healthy subjects to evaluate the changes in gene expression induced by grape consumption. Blood from twenty subjects was collected at baseline (T0), after 21 days of grape-rich diet (T1) and after one-month washout (T2). Gene expression profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells fr...

Currently, the analysis of bioactive compounds is easily carried out by modern chromatographic and spectrometric techniques, but the success of the procedure still depends on the efficiency of the extraction methods. This work aimed at finding the optimal conditions for ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) of phenolic antioxidants from grape skin u...

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is importantly cultivated worldwide for table grape and wine production. Its cultivation requires irrigation supply, especially in arid and semiarid areas. Water deficiency can affect berry and wine quality mostly depending on the extent of plant perceived stress, which is a cultivar-specific trait. We tested the physi...

L' Italia produce circa 1,2 Ml t di uva da tavola seguendo nell'ordine la Cina, gli USA, l'Iran la Turchia e l'Egitto (OIV 2018) e la Puglia produce circa il 60% dell'uva da tavola italiana. Le varietà più coltivate sono Italia, Victoria, Red Globe, Michele Palieri, Black Magic, Regina, Crimson, Sugraone, Thompson Seedless e Regal Seedless. La prod...

Background Magna Graecia is the ancient name for the modern geopolitical region of South Italy extensively populated by Greek colonizers, shown by archeological and historical evidence to be the oldest wine growing region of Italy, crucial for the spread of specialized viticulture around Mediterranean shores. Here, the genetic diversity of Magna Gr...

Grapevine requires irrigation supply for its cultivation, especially in the arid and semiarid geographic areas. As consequence of the severe climatic changes, water consumption is becoming more and more important as environmental and cost factor that needs to be reduced. Water deficiency can affect berry and wine quality depending on the extent of...

In the CREA-Viticoltura ed Enologia, Lab of Turi, during the last ten years, we started a breeding program for table grapes to obtain new seedless varieties, by using conventional breeding by crossings, and embryo rescue techniques. Other than seedlessness, additional targets for this breeding program are: the possibility of extending the harvestin...

NIR spectroscopy is a rapid, economic and not destructive technique employed in food analysis. Concerning fresh table grape, the analysis is usually limited to juices, homogenates or skin extracts which usually give better NIR prediction models. Scanning of intact berries is challenging since each berry has specific features (berry shape, presence...

Grey mould of grapes, caused by the polyphagous and ubiquitous fungus Botrytis cinerea Pers.:Fr., determines significant economic losses of table grape both in yield and postharvest conditions. Because there are no highly resistant or tolerant commercial varieties, management of this disease is commonly achieved through the application of synthetic...

Alcoholic fermentation is a key step in wine production. Indeed, a wide range of compounds, which strongly affect the sensory properties of wine, is produced during this process. While Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cultures are commonly employed in winemaking to carry on the fermentation process, some non-Saccharomyces species have recently gained...

Nuovi genotipi di V. vinifera poco sensibili a Peronospora ottenuti dal Crea La Peronospora della vite, causata dal fungo fitopatogeno Plamospara viticola (B. et C.) Berl. et De Toni, rappresenta una delle principali avversità biotiche in grado di produrre seri danni alle produzioni in molte regioni viticole italiane. In un’ottica di riduzione del...

The antifungal activity of unripe grape extracts from agro-industrial wastes has been evaluated against several strains of Candida spp. and dermatophytes. All the extracts tested showed antifungal activity. The geometric mean MIC ranged from 53.58 to 214.31 μg/mL for Candida spp. and from 43.54 to 133.02 μg/mL for dermatophytes. The chemical analys...

Phytochemicals contained in grapes down-regulate several prothrombotic pathways in vitro. We evaluated the effect of grape consumption on coagulation and fibrinolysis in healthy volunteers. Thirty subjects were enrolled: 20 were given grape (5 g/kg body weight/day for 3 weeks), while 10 served as controls. Blood samples were taken at baseline (T0),...

The Calabria region, with historical roots that date back to the ancients Enotria and Magna Grecia, has an astonishing large wine-growing biodiversity. In the CREA projects, thanks to a key contribution from local custodians of viticultural biodiversity, almost all the territory of Calabria have been explorated, from the district of "Pollino" to th...

a L'autore ha ideato ed organizzato la ricerca, coordinando le attività e la redazione dell'articolo b L'autore ha contribuito con gli approfondimenti di elaborazione statistica dei dati e nella redazione dell'articolo c L'autore ha contribuito alla effettuazione delle attività di campo, di laboratorio analitico, di valutazione sensoriale e di reda...

Le varietà di portainnesti di vite attualmente presenti nel panorama viticolo sono note per la loro differente capacità di influenzare la crescita vegetativa, la produttività e la qualità delle uve; ciò è legato sia alla differente capacità intrinseca del portainnesto di assorbire acqua ed elementi minerali e sia alla capacità che un portainnesto h...

Monomeric and polymeric flavan-3-ols (proanthocyanidins) content in grapes is higher in seeds compared to berry skins. Monomeric flavan-3-ols are more astringent, however, they can combine with other monomer, with anthocyanins and with mannoproteins released by yeast and therefore lose their harsh features in wines. Proanthocyanidins extracted duri...

Milella-Donato antonacci Centro di Viticoltura ed Enologia (VE)-Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria (CREA)-Turi (Ba) Trasmissione delle virosi della vite: come bloccare i virus con il breeding L a trasmissione per seme svolge un ruolo importante nella diffu-sione dei virus, soprattutto nei programmi di incrocio...

Grape seed extracts are commonly utilized as dietary supplements for their antioxidant properties, even from cancer patients. However, whether these natural extracts interfere with chemotherapeutics utilized in colon cancer treatment is still poorly investigated. The cytotoxicity of extracts from Italia and Palieri cultivars either alone or in comb...

The vertical transmission of viruses is an important phenomenon affecting a wide range of viruses and host plants. Nevertheless, the presence of virus in a seed does not always lead to seedling infection. In grapevine, seed transmission has been reported for many nepoviruses, but little is known about Leafroll, Rugose wood complex and Fleck disease...

In recent years the wine sector has been characterized by an increased focus on the diversification of wine products. This change has been welcomed by consumers. In fact, today's consumers are willing to experiment with new products and unusual combinationswhich has stimulated research aimed at the discovery of native grape varieties suitable for f...

According to the CODEX STAN 255 (2007), table grapes can be harvested when the refractometric index reaches at least 16° Brix. Grapes with a lower refractometric index are accepted provided the sugar/acid ratio (Total Soluble Solids/Tritatable Acidity – TSS/TA) is at least equal to 20:1 if the Brix level is comprised between 12.5° and 14° Brix, 18:...

Monomeric and polymeric flavan-3-ols (proanthocyanidins) content in grapes is higher in seeds compared to berry skins. Monomeric flavan-3-ols are more astringent, however, they can combine with other monomer, with anthocyanins and with mannoproteins released by yeast and therefore lose their harsh features in wines. Proanthocyanidins extracted duri...

Due to health concerns, techniques to substitute sulfite (SO2) in winemaking, without compromising high quality wines production, have been encouraged in the last years. In this work, two white wines, Chardonnay and Pinot, and one red wine, Montepulciano, were produced by using ascorbic acid, lysozyme and oenological tannins in the winemaking proce...

Variazioni strutturali nel genoma di vite: basi molecolari delle differenze fenotipiche L a vite e i suoi prodotti derivati hanno un ampio mercato in tutto il mondo per la produzione di uva da tavola e per la produzione di vino. Recentemente, inoltre, gli studi sul va-lore nutraceutico dell'uva e del vino hanno suscitato un crescente interesse per...

Vitis vinifera L. varieties were spread through cuttings following historic migrations of people, trades, or after biological crises due to pests outbreaks. Some today’s varieties could be more than a 1000 years old and, although over the centuries these varieties generated most of the remaining cultivars, their origin could be impossible to track...

Table grapes need of substantial water supply for achieving commercial requirements. Viticulture practices such as girdling (G) and gibberellic acid (GA) application, as well as water supply, can improve table grape quality. The study, which was conducted in two consecutive seasons (2010–2011), aimed to assess the counterbalance effect of these vit...

Several human skin diseases are associated with fungi as dermatophytes and Malassezia. Skin mycoses are increasing and new alternatives to conventional treatments with improved efficacy and/or safety profiles are desirable. For the first time, the anti-dermatophytes and the anti-Malassezia activities of Vitis vinifera seed extracts obtained from di...

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the world's most important crop plants, which is of large economic value for fruit and wine production. There is much interest in identifying genomic variations and their functional effects on inter-varietal, phenotypic differences. Using an approach developed for the analysis of human and mammalian genomes,...

Grapevine is one of the most important crop plants in the world. Recently there was great expansion of genomics resources about grapevine genome, thus providing increasing efforts for molecular breeding. Current cultivars display a great level of inter-specific differentiation that needs to be investigated to reach a comprehensive understanding of...

A number of studies have established that vertical transmission of viruses is an important phenomenon affecting a wide range of viruses, especially as a result of breeding programs. Nevertheless, the presence of virus in a seed, does not always lead to seedling infection. In grapevine, seed transmission has been reported for many nepoviruses, but l...

Grapevine is one of the most important crop plants in the world because of its economically valuable role in fruit and wine production. Recently there was great expansion of genomics resources about grapevine genome, thus providing increasing efforts for molecular breeding. Current cultivars display a great level of inter-specific differentiation t...

Apulian farmers have begun to explore the potential of grape juice as an alternative method to increase the profitability and stability of their farming operations. Grape juice obtained from table cultivar rich in polyphenols are considered value-added food products, so producers are interested in identifying an analytical method that permits (1) t...

There is increasing interest in development of methods for wine characterization to guarantee traceability and product safety. Metabolomics represents a valuable tool to trace the metabolic fingerprint of complex mixtures. Wines from 22 pure varieties (autochthonous from Southern Italy and grown in the same area of Apulia) were genetically identifi...

Abscisic acid (ABA) is associated with regulating plant adaptive responses to various environmental stresses. In particular, drought stress signals are transmitted through at least two pathways: one is abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent, and the other is ABA-independent. In the first case, drought stress increases the cellular ABA levels, which induces...

High estimated heritability values were recently revealed for mature leaf traits in grape (Vitis vinifera L.), thus redeeming ampelography in the era of molecular markers. The ''Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV)'' set a list of hundreds of descriptors for grapevine in order to standardize ampelographic and am-pelometric scores...

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most important crop plants in the world because of its economically valuable role in fruit and wine production; for this reason, great interest has recently been shown in identifying genomic variations and their functional effects on inter-varietal phenotypic differences. Discovery and characterization of...

The oxidation of dihydroxybenzene and hydroxycinnamate compounds generates unstable quinones which undergo further reactions to combine nucleophilic compounds. These reactions are limited when sulfur dioxide (SO2) is used as wine preservative, as SO2 plays an important role in reducing quinones back to their phenol form. In no sulfite-added wine, o...

This paper presents a comprehensive analytical methodology, based on ‘in-time’ and ‘in-space’ tandem mass spectrometry (MS) techniques, to identify and quantify flavonoid compounds in a typical Italian sweet cherry cultivar (cv. Ferrovia). Five anthocyanins, four flavan-3-ols and nine flavonols were determined by means of hyphenated high-performanc...

For the first time, grape seed extracts (GSEs), obtained from wine and table cultivars of Vitis vinifera L., cultured in experimental fields of Lazio and Puglia regions of Italy and grown in different agronomic conditions, have been tested on 43 Candida species strains. We demonstrated a significant correlation between the content of the flavan-3-o...

Uva da tavola tra passato e futuro: nuovo breeding italiano L a coltivazione delle uve da tavo-la nel Meridione d'Italia risulta un settore importante della sua economia, il quale oggi viene messo in crisi non solo dalla coltivazione di varietà con semi, meno richieste dai mercati, ma anche dalla presenza sui mercati internazionali di uva prove-nie...

The present work report the characterization of twenty-one table grapes candidate cultivars plus five registered ones included as reference, by means of 47 ampelographic traits, 23 ampelometric measurements and six microsatellite loci. The final goal of the research was to analyse the possibility of reducing the number of morphological and molecula...