17/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday in Paris France and Italy officialised an agreement on the launch of the bilateral vine research programme. Financial commitment from the two countries rose to EUR 12 million (EUR 6 million each) and the programme will ultimately open to other interested countries. The programme aims to complete sequencing of the vine genome so that genetic factors can be explored which impact on vine resistance to disease and tolerance of environmental factors (drought, cols etc). The French minister of agriculture explained that the availability of complete genome sequencing would also allow for a better understanding of the physiological and genetic mechanisms involved in fruit ripening or aromatic quality expression.