Abstract
Viticulture represents one of the most important fruit productions in the world. Thousands of varieties of Vitis vinifera (grape varieties) exist but only thirteen varieties represent more than a third of the world's wine area. The creation of a grape variety is the result of a sexual event between two parents, but its propagation is carried out by vegetative multiplication. The succession of these multiplication events induces a genetic polymorphism leading to an intra-varietal diversity that is of interest to producers and which has been the subject of important selection work by national and regional organizations. Numerous studies have made it possible to specify the nature of the genetic polymorphisms responsible for intra-varietal polymorphism and have significantly advanced genetic knowledge. However, traditional ampelography is not adequate to distinguish between clones and there is not yet a reliable methodology to identify and select clones. The main objective of this project is to use the latest genetic sequencing techniques to identify clones of the same grape variety. Moreover, based on precise phenotyping work of a privat collection of 'Merlot' accessions, this research project also wishes to study the association between the genetic polymorphism highlighted and the phenotypic variations observed for traits of viticultural and oenological interest.