Abstract
For decades, it has been known that the morphology of wild Vitis vinifera (grape) pips differ from domesticated ones. Based on these differences, computerised image analysis and morphometrics allow us to obtain excellent results to identify the domestication status of archaeological grape pips. However, various image analysis methodologies and morphometric methods have been applied in previous studies for this purpose. Our study has examined, for the first time, the different techniques of digital image acquisition (digital camera vs. scanner) of grape pips, with the aim of testing the identification performance using both traditional and geometric morphometric features to distinguish wild from domestic grape pips. The performance of different morphometric methods established that all image acquisition techniques and morphometric methods correctly distinguished between wild and domestic grapes. The use of the combined geometric morphometric features of both dorsal and lateral views of the pips provided the best accuracy in distinguishing individual cultivars.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abràmoff MD, Magalhães PJ, Ram SJ (2004) Image processing with ImageJ. Biophotonics Int 11:36–42
Arroyo-García R, Ruiz‐García L, Bolling L et al (2006) Multiple origins of cultivated grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. ssp. sativa) based on chloroplast DNA polymorphisms. Mol Ecol 15:3707–3714. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03049.x
Bonhomme V, Picq S, Gaucherel C, Claude J (2014) Momocs: Outline Analysis using R. J Stat Softw 56:1–24. https://www.jstatsoft.org/v56/i13/
Bonhomme V, Ivorra S, Lacombe T et al (2021) Pip shape echoes grapevine domestication history. Sci Rep 11:21381. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-00877-4
Bonhomme V, Pagnoux C, Bouby L, Ivorra S, Allen SE, Valamoti SM (2022) Early viticulture in Neolithic and bronze age Greece: looking for the best traditional morphometric method to distinguish wild and domestic grape pips. In: Valamoti SM, Dimoula A, Ntinou M (eds) Cooking with plants in Ancient Europe and Beyond. Sidestone, Leiden, pp 57–69
Bouby L, Marinval P (2001) La Vigne et les débuts de la viticulture en France: apports de l’archéobotanique. Gallia 58:13–28. https://doi.org/10.3406/galia.2001.3171
Bouby L, Figueiral I, Bouchette A et al (2013) Bioarchaeological insights into the process of domestication of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) during roman times in Southern France. PLoS ONE 8:e63195. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0063195
Bouby L, Wales N, Jalabadze M et al (2021) Tracking the history of grapevine cultivation in Georgia by combining geometric morphometrics and ancient DNA. Veget Hist Archaeobot 30:63–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-020-00803-0
Claude J (2008) Morphometrics with R. Springer, New York
Coradeschi G, Ucchesu M, Dias E et al (2023) A glimpse into the viticulture of roman Lusitania: morphometric analysis of charred grape pips from Torre dos Namorados, Portugal. Veget Hist Archaeobot 32:349–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-023-00912-6
De Lorenzis G, Chipashvili R, Failla O, Maghradze D (2015) Study of genetic variability in Vitis vinifera L. germplasm by high-throughput Vitis18kSNP array: the case of Georgian genetic resources. BMC Plant Biol 15:154. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-015-0510-9
Dong Y, Duan S, Xia Q et al (2023) Dual domestications and origin of traits in grapevine evolution. Science 379:892–901. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.add8655
Evin A, Bonhomme V, Claude J (2020) Optimizing digitalization effort in morphometrics. Biol Methods Protoc 5:bpaa023. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomethods/bpaa023
Kuhl FP, Giardina CR (1982) Elliptic fourier features of a closed contour. Comput Graph Image Process 18:236–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-664X(82)90034-X
Logothetis B (1970) The development of the vine and of viticulture in Greece based on archaeological findings in the area. Epistimoniki Epetiris tis Geoponikis Kai Dasologikis Sholis. Univ Thessaloniki 13:167–249 (in Greek with English summary)
Logothetis B (1974) The contribution of the vine and the wine to the civilization of Greece and Eastern Mediterranean. Epistimoniki Epetiris tis Geoponikis Kai Dasologikis Sholis. Univ Thessaloniki 17:5–286 (in Greek with French summary)
Mangafa M, Kotsakis K (1996) A New Method for the identification of wild and cultivated charred grape seeds. J Archaeol Sci 23:409–418. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1996.0036
Myles S, Boyko AR, Owens CL et al (2011) Genetic structure and domestication history of the grape. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:3530–3535. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1009363108
Orrù M, Grillo O, Venora G, Bacchetta G (2012) Computer vision as a method complementary to molecular analysis: Grapevine cultivar seeds case study. C R Biol 335:602–615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvi.2012.08.002
Orrù M, Grillo O, Lovicu G, Venora G, Bacchetta G (2013) Morphological characterisation of Vitis vinifera L. seeds by image analysis and comparison with archaeological remains. Veget Hist Archaeobot 22:231–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-012-0362-2
Pagnoux C, Bouby L, Ivorra S, Petit C, Valamoti SM, Pastor T, Picq S, Terral J-F (2015) Inferring the agrobiodiversity of Vitis vinifera L. (grapevine) in ancient Greece by comparative shape analysis of archaeological and modern seeds. Veget Hist Archaeobot 24:75–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-014-0482-y
Pagnoux C, Bouby L, Valamoti SM et al (2021) Local domestication or diffusion? Insights into viticulture in Greece from Neolithic to archaic times, using geometric morphometric analyses of archaeological grape seeds. J Archaeol Sci 125:105263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2020.105263
R Core Team (2013) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. https://www.R-project.org/
Sarigu M, Sabato D, Ucchesu M et al (2022) Discovering Plum, Watermelon and grape cultivars founded in a Middle Age Site of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy) through a computer image analysis Approach. Plants 11:1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11081089
Smith H, Jones G (1990) Experiments on the effects of charring on cultivated grape seeds. J Archaeol Sci 17:317–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(90)90026-2
Stummer A (1911) Zur Urgeschichte Der Rebe Und Weinbaues. Mitt Anthropol Ges Wien 41:283–296
Terral J-F, Tabard E, Bouby L et al (2010) Evolution and history of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) under domestication: new morphometric perspectives to understand seed domestication syndrome and reveal origins of ancient European cultivars. Ann Bot 105:443–455. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcp298
This P, Lacombe T, Thomas MR (2006) Historical origins and genetic diversity of wine grapes. Trends Genet 22:511–519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2006.07.008
Ucchesu M, Orrù M, Grillo O, Venora G, Usai A, Serreli PF, Bacchetta G (2015) Earliest evidence of a primitive cultivar of Vitis vinifera L. during the bronze age in Sardinia (Italy). Veget Hist Archaeobot 24:587–600. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-014-0512-9
Ucchesu M, Orrù M, Grillo O, Venora G, Paglietti G, Ardu A, Bacchetta G (2016) Predictive method for correct identification of Archaeological Charred grape seeds: support for advances in knowledge of grape domestication process. PLoS ONE 11:e0149814. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149814
Venables WN, Ripley BD (2002) Modern applied statistics with S. statistics and Computing. Springer, New York
Wen J, Harris A, Kalburgi Y et al (2018) Chloroplast phylogenomics of the New World grape species (Vitis, Vitaceae). J Syst Evol 56:297–308. https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12447
Zohary D (1995) The domestication of the grapevine Vitis vinifera L. in the Near East. In: Mc Govern PE, Fleming SJ, Katz SH (eds) The origins and ancient history of wine. Gordon and Breach, Amsterdam, pp 23–30
Zohary D, Hopf M, Weiss E (2012) Domestication of plants in the Old World: the origin and spread of domesticated plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin, 4th edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Acknowledgements
The work of M. Ucchesu received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement (No 101019563 – VITALY). The work of L. Bouby received funding from ANR MICA project (agreement No ANR-22-CE27-0026). We are grateful to the Centre de Ressources Biologiques de la Vigne, Domaine de Vassal-Montpellier (INRAE) and to the Agenzia per la Ricerca in Agricoltura della Regione Sardegna (AGRIS) germplasm collection which provided pips from modern cultivated varieties used in this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
Additional information
Communicated by S. M. Valamoti.
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Ucchesu, M., Ivorra, S., Pastor, T. et al. Comparison of image acquisition techniques and morphometric methods to distinguish between Vitis vinifera subspecies and cultivars. Veget Hist Archaeobot (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-024-00992-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-024-00992-y