Progress of collection, conservation and innovative utilization of grape resources in the National Grape and Peach Germplasm Repository (Zhengzhou)

Vitis L. belongs to Vitaceae family. Vitis can be divided into Subgenus Euvitis Planch and Subgenus Muscadinia Planch. Subgenus Euvitis Planch has more than 70 species whose chromosome number is 2n=38. Within the subgenus, the interspecies cross is easy, and they are mainly distributing in the temperate regions of Northern Hemisphere. They are intensively originated from three centers of West Asia, North America and East Asia: Europe-West Asia distribution center, North America distribution center and East Asia distribution center and form 3 species group according to geographic origin. Eurasian population originated from the center of Europe-West Asia only has a V. vinifear L. and 3 wild subspecies ssp. sativa D.C., ssp. silvestris Gm. and ssp. caucasica Vav.. V. vinifear L. is the only cultispecies in Vitis species. The region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea is the origin of European grape. The European grape spread to Europe from this region and further spread around the world by European. By long-term introduction, domestication, breeding and clonal selection, the culti species has different characteristics and the diverse resources. At present, in the world, more than 90% production of grape are made from this species and more than 80% grape varieties are evolved from this species. It is widely cultivated in Mediterranean climate conditions around the world. There are about 30 species originated from North America Dstribution Center, which includes America, Canada and Mexico, to form South America species group. They are important disease- resistant grape germplasm resources, and play an important role in grape resistance breeding against phylloxera and downy mildew. East Asia Distribution Center includes China, Japan, Korea, Russia Far East and the northern area of Southeast Asia. It has about 40 species to form East Asia Species Group, which has extremely abundant diversity and resistant types. Each species of East Asia Species Group has a distribution in China, and all species of South America population mainly distribute in America. Therefore, China is one of the centers of origin with the most abundant wild grape resources in the world, including all the wild grape species from the East Asian origin center. The resistance types are extremely rich, providing important material support for grape breeding and industrial development. There are many cultivated varieties of grape. Long time ago, the description and recordation of grape varieties arose. With the extension of cultivation area and the escalation of varieties, more variety populations formed with different regional characteristics. Because Vitis plants have the wide origins, the activities of artificial introduction to exchange, breeding, clonal selection and so on, have made wide grape varieties and rich genotypes. Grape is one of the cultivated plants that have the most varieties. After a long time of natural selection and industrious breeding by human, it forms extremely abundant grape variety resources. Grape has been cultivated in China for over 2000 years, it was developed from west to east, and from north to south step-by-step. Nowadays, grape is cultivated all over China. China is a major producer of grapes and also a major consumer of grapes in the world, with grapes occupying an important position in our country. With the development of grape industry in China, the work of grape genetic resource and breeding is highly regarded than before. In 1978, the Chinese Agricultural Ministry planned to establish National Fruit Tree Germplasm Repositories. This plan was started in 1981 and finished in 1989. Good results are achieved in identification, evaluation and utilization of grape genetic resources to a certain extent. The National Grape and Peach Germplasm Repository (Zhengzhou) is the primary unit for preserving grape germplasm resources in China, and is currently one of the most abundant nurseries for preserving grape germplasm resources in the world. By December 2024, the National Grape and Peach Germplasm Repository (Zhengzhou) had collected and preserved 2140 grape germplasm resources. More than 30 000 hybrid offsprings were established using the selected excellent germplasm, and multiple new grape varieties such as Zhengyan Seedless, Hongyan Seedless, and Zhong Pu Jin Xiang were bred. Since 2000, the Zhengzhou Grape Germplasm Repository has cumulatively provided resources for utilization to 356 entities, including Nanjing Agricultural University, Northwest A&F University, China Agricultural University, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and other universities and research institutes, as well as agricultural technology extension departments, cooperatives, and planting enterprises at the provincial, municipal, and county levels in Henan, Hebei, Xinjiang, Hubei, Yunnan, and other provinces. A total of 16 349 resource utilizations have been provided, primarily for basic research, new variety breeding, production, and science popularization education, effectively supporting the development of grape scientific research, breeding, and the industry in China. This article introduces the development history of the National Grape Germplasm Resources Repository (Zhengzhou), summarizes and reviews the current status of grape germplasm resource collection and preservation in the past 20 years, as well as their innovative utilization. It also looks forward to future research directions, in order to provide a reference for the effective utilization and industrial development of grape germplasm resources in China.