Scientists in India have identified the genetic mechanisms responsible for seedless grapes, offering new tools to accelerate breeding of one of the world’s most commercially important fruits. The study, led by Ravindra Patil at the Agharkar Research Institute and published in BMC Plant Biology, focuses on a seedless mutant derived from the high-yielding grape variety ARI-516.
Using genomic and transcriptomic analyses, researchers found that pollen sterility plays a central role in seedlessness. The seedless grapes showed abnormal pollen structure, near-zero germination capacity, and disrupted fertilisation processes, preventing seed formation.
Further investigation revealed that key genes linked to pollen development, cell division, and hormone signalling were effectively switched off. Whole-genome sequencing also identified insertion-deletion mutations that interfere with normal reproductive pathways, pointing to parthenocarpy—fruit development without fertilisation—as the underlying mechanism.
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