Genome-wide screening of novel RT-qPCR reference genes for study of GLRaV-3 infection in wine grapes and refinement of an RNA isolation protocol for grape berries.

We have formulated a rapid, safe and highly effective protocol for isolating RNA from recalcitrant berry tissue of wine grapes. The resulting RNA is of high quality and suitable for RT-qPCR and RNA-Seq. We have identified and validated a set of novel reference genes based on RNA-Seq dataset. We have shown that these new reference genes are superior over actin and NAD5, two of the conventional reference genes commonly used in early studies.