Grapevine requires numerous harmful plant-health treatments, in particular to control downy and powdery mildews, caused by Plasmopara viticola and Erysiphe necator, respectively. One way to reduce the use of fungicides in viticulture is to create resistant grapevine cultivars. European cultivated grapevine (Vitis vinifera, 2n=38) is susceptible to mildews, whereas related species such as Muscadinia rotundifolia (2n=40) exhibit high levels of resistance. In breeding programs, resistance factors from these related species are introduced into the susceptible elite varieties. Nevertheless, difficulties in obtaining viable seeds in the siblings of Vitis x Muscadinia crosses are observed. In order to optimize the management of resistance factors from M. rotundifolia in breeding programs, it is necessary to understand the genomic organisation of this species, and to complete the knowledge of these factors. Thus, the main objectives of this work are : (i) making a comparative analysis of V. vinifera and M. rotundifolia genomes and (ii) identifying new resistance factors from M. rotundifolia. For this purpose a framework genetic map of M. rotundifolia cv. Regale has been created, using a 200 individual S1 population. This population has also been screened for its resistance to downy and powdery mildew. A 950 cM genetic map has been generated, including 191 SSR markers distributed across the 20 chromosomes of M. rotundifolia. A high level of macrosynteny has been observed between the Muscadinia map and the genetic maps available for V. vinifera. Linkage group (LG) 20 of M. rotundifolia matches with the lower part of V. vinifera LG7. Furthermore, a QTL for resistance to downy mildew has been identified on M. rotundifolia LG18, and a major QTL for resistance to powdery mildew has been mapped on LG14. The latest, called Ren5 for ‘Resistance to Erysiphe necator 5’, acts during an early stage to stop E. necator’s mycelium growth, since the first stages of biotrophy have been established for the fungus. Moreover, Ren5 has been confronted to two additional powdery mildew strains, belonging to the two European groups of E. necator, and it remained efficient. Gathering knowledge about the genetic organization of M. rotundifolia, and the mechanism and spectrum of action of newly identified resistance factors such as Ren5, will be useful to optimize the management of M. rotundifolia resistance traits in breeding programs aiming to create new resistant varieties to downy and powdery mildews
