Compared to other perennials, the genome size is relatively small, 475 Mb, similar to rice ( Oryza sativa, 430 Mb ), barrel medic (Medicago truncatula, 500 Mb, ) and black cottonwood poplar (Populus trichocarpa, 465 Mb ). The species can be transformed and micropropagated via somatic embryogenesis. Grape has the potential to become a model organism for fruit trees. The high chromosome number suggests a paleopolyploid state of the genome, an argument recently presented in the frame of a recent partial assembly of the grape genome but still remaining controversial. All wild Vitis species have 38 chromosomes (n = 19) and most interspecies hybrids are fertile. Inbreeding depression is severe, so that sterility often ensues from the second or third generation of selfing. As a result, cultivars are highly heterozygous and carry many deleterious recessive mutations. However, outbreeding by means of wind and insect pollination is the norm. sylvestris, bears hermaphroditic self-fertilizing flowers. Given grape's content of resveratrol, quercitin and ellagic acid, grape products may contribute to reducing the incidence of cardiovascular and other diseases. A traditional icon of the Mediterranean diet, the grape has more recently been extensively cultivated in the New World and its cultivation is now moving to Asia. It has been celebrated by the Ecclesiates, by Horace, Goethe, Jefferson and the Nobel laureate J. , wine has been an important component of many cultures. Ever since the development of wine-making in Iran between 5,440 and 5,000 B.C. Grapes can be grown at latitudes from 50°N to 40°S and up to 3,000 meters above sea level, with almost 98% of grape vineyards planted with Vitis vinifera L. Grapes (67 million t ) and their derivatives have a large and expanding worldwide market. The relative age of grape duplicated genes was estimated and this made possible to reveal a relatively recent Vitis-specific large scale duplication event concerning at least 10 chromosomes (duplication not reported before). Of around 2,000,000 SNPs, 1,751,176 were mapped to chromosomes and one or more of them were identified in 86.7% of anchored genes. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) distribution was consistent with a diffuse haplotype structure across the genome. This assembly of the grape genome provides candidate genes implicated in traits relevant to grapevine cultivation, such as those influencing wine quality, via secondary metabolites, and those connected with the extreme susceptibility of grape to pathogens. The number of predicted genes is 29,585, of which 96.1% were assigned to LGs. Genomic sequences corresponding to 477.1 Mb were assembled in 2,093 metacontigs and 435.1 Mb were anchored to the 19 linkage groups (LGs).