Metabolic and RNA profiling elucidates proanthocyanidins accumulation in Aglianico grape

- Proanthocyanidins (PAs) content and genetic expression was inspected in Aglianico berries.
- Polyphenol fractions were tissue-specific and more abundant in seeds than in skins.
- Aglianico seeds contain specific PAs able to affect astringency.
- The formation of seed reactive tannins may be related to the expression of ANR gene.

Aglianico grapes are known for their high content of proanthocyanidins (PAs), which are responsible for the astringency of wines derived from this cultivar. However, the accumulation of PAs and their genetic control during berry development remain largely unexplored. This work aimed to monitor astringency-causing PAs in Aglianico berries and correlate them with the expression of 14 key genes. Berries were collected during ripening and dissected in skins and seeds. PAs were fractionated and the content of total phenolics, flavans, anthocyanins, tannins reactive towards salivary proteins and tannin structural composition were evaluated. The results provided evidence that PAs were more abundant in seeds than in skins as expected, with differences in the structural composition between tissues, which did not varied during ripening. Expression analysis showed that Aglianico is able to accumulate polyphenols due to its ability to modulate key genes in a tissue-specific manner.