Modern cabernet sauvignon wine grapes still retain epigenetic memory of the variety's origins in 17th century France

A research team at the University of California, Davis, has shown that cabernet sauvignon vines carry stable epigenetic signatures inherited from their parent varieties, despite almost 400 years of clonal propagation, offering fresh insight into how perennial crops preserve molecular traits down the centuries

In the late 1600s – in Bordeaux, France when the country was still a monarchy – the chance crossing of cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc varieties created cabernet sauvignon, a wine grape that has since become the most widely planted variety across the world reshaping modern viticulture. Now, research from the University of California, Davis, (UC Davis) has shown that this celebrated grape retains a molecular imprint of its origins, preserved despite generations of clonal reproduction.

Unlike annual crops such as wheat or maize, grapevines are propagated almost exclusively from cuttings rather than from seed. Each vine is therefore a near genetic replica of its predecessor, meaning that modern cabernet sauvignon vines remain closely related to the original seventeenth-century plant. This unusual form of agricultural continuity has raised a longstanding question for plant biologists: whether epigenetic marks, chemical modifications that regulate gene activity without changing the DNA sequence itself, can remain stable over centuries.

“When you think about it, it’s unusual compared to most crops, which are continuously improved through breeding,” said Professor Dario Cantù of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology.

“We still cultivate plant material selected hundreds of years ago simply because cabernet sauvignon is so beloved,” he added.

In a recent study Cantù and colleagues reported that these epigenetic marks do indeed persist across long periods of clonal propagation. Such marks act as molecular switches that influence whether genes are active or inactive and can shape traits such as fruit quality, stress tolerance and disease response.

“These are modifications that don’t alter the genetic code itself but sit on top of it.

“They can be inherited from your parents – but also change as you develop –as you interact with the environment or as you’re challenged by stress or disease,” Cantù explained.

The research team used high-resolution genome sequencing to examine the stability of epigenetic modifications across multiple clones of cabernet sauvignon and its parent varieties. They assembled detailed genome maps for cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc alongside cabernet sauvignon itself and analysed subtle differences between individual vines. Central to this work was the development of a sophisticated genomic framework known as a phased sequence graph, which captures fine-scale genetic and epigenetic variation more accurately than conventional reference genomes.

This approach enabled the researchers to trace the inheritance of epigenetic marks alongside DNA and to assess their influence on gene activity. While individual vines showed minor molecular differences, the core epigenetic patterns associated with parental inheritance remained strikingly consistent, even after centuries of vegetative reproduction.

“It’s like sequencing identical twins at 90 and still detecting the parental signatures they inherited, even though their experiences and much of their epigenome have changed with age,” Cantù said.

The findings represent the first clear demonstration that epigenetic ‘gene memory’ can persist for hundreds of years in a clonally propagated crop. Beyond their historical interest, the results carry practical implications for agriculture, particularly in the context of climate stress. Cantù noted that if certain epigenetic responses to heat, drought or disease prove to be stable, they could offer novel targets for crop improvement.

“If we know which stress-induced epigenetic changes persist, we could potentially introduce them by exposing plants to specific conditions and select vines that retain those beneficial marks over the long term, without altering their genetic makeup and while preserving the defining traits of varieties like cabernet sauvignon,” said Cantù.

The genomic framework developed for this study can be applied to other perennial crops that rely on clonal propagation, including fruit trees and vines. By identifying which inherited molecular markers endure across generations, researchers hope to guide breeding strategies that balance resilience with quality.

This work holds particular historic relevance for the UC Davis where, in 1997, Professor Carole Meredith was the first to identify cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc as the parents of cabernet sauvignon. Nearly three decades later, Cantù’s team has demonstrated that the grape still bears molecular traces of that ancestral pairing.

“This work connects a UC Davis classic to a UC Davis first.

“It shows that even after centuries, cabernet sauvignon still holds the molecular memory of where it came from,” Cantù said.

For further reading please visit: 10.1186/s13059-025-03858-2