Progress of collection, conservation and innovative utilization of Vitis amurensis Rupr. resources in the National Field Gene Bank for Amur

Vitis amurensis Rupr. is a wild fruit tree belonging to the genus Vitis within the family Vitaceae, native to Northeast China, North China, the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, and the Russian Far East. Vitis amurensis is the most cold-hardy species among Vitis plants, with its canes tolerating temperatures as low as -40 ℃ and its roots surviving temperatures between -14 ℃ and -16 ℃. It exhibits strong resistance to powdery mildew, white rot, anthracnose, and black rot, making it a precious resource for resistance breeding in grapes both domestically and internationally. Northeast China and the Russian Far East are the regions with the richest distribution of wild Vitis amurensis resources. Following the successful domestication and cultivation of wild Vitis amurensis, China has become the only country with large-scale cultivation of Vitis amurensis and the most active in its utilization for breeding. The National Field Gene Bank for Vitis amurensis (Jilin), established by the Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, CAAS, is a national-level repository in China dedicated to the professional conservation of Vitis amurensis germplasm resources. By the end of 2024,the repository had preserved 445 accessions of cold-hardy grape germplasm resources, primarily Vitis amurensis, including 372 accessions of wild Vitis amurensis resources,making it the largest repository of Vitis amurensis germplasm in the world. Chinese research institutions have utilized Vitis amurensis resources for germplasm innovation, breeding over 30 cultivars of Vitis amurensis and interspecific hybrid grapes,providing excellent cultivars for viticulture and wine production in cold regions of China. The Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, CAAS, has selected and bred 17 cultivars of Vitis amurensis and V. amurensis × V. vinifera hybrids. Among them, Beibinghong is the world’s first excellent cultivar capable of producing ice red wine through direct pressing, initiating the history of ice red wine production in China. In collaboration with the Shandong Academy of Grapevine,the National Grape Germplasm Repository (Vitis amurensis) conducted research from 2019 to 2022 using 25 accessions of Vitis amurensis germplasm，including Zuoshan-1. This work completed the whole-genome sequencing and assembly of Vitis amurensis‘Zuoshan- 1’, compared the evolutionary relationships and chromosomal structural variations among East Asian (represented by V. amurensis), Eurasian (represented by V. vinifera), and American (represented by V. riparia) species, and analyzed the sex-determining genes in Vitis amurensis resources. This article briefly introduces the current status of the collection, conservation, and utilization of Vitis amurensis germplasm resources in China, summarizes and reviews the research progress made by the National Grape Germplasm Repository (Vitis amurensis) in the secure conservation and effective utilization of these resources, and provides prospects for future research and utilization directions of Vitis amurensis germplasm.