Durif producers of Durif. The grape can also be found in Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. Confirmed as recently as 1997, old plantings of Durif continued to be used to produce popular wine in the Rutherglen, Victoria region of Australia. Durif is now grown in other wine regions of Australia, such as Riverina and Riverland, with over under cultivation by 2000. DNA fingerprinting has shown that the majority of Petite Sirah plantings in California are actually Durif. Some vineyards were found to be a field blend of Durif and other varieties, such as Mondeuse noire, all labeled as "Petite Sirah".
Petite mutation be induced using a variety of mutagens, including DNA intercalating agents, as well as chemicals that can interfere with DNA synthesis in growing cells. Mutagens that create Petites are implicated in increased rates of degenerative diseases and in the aging process. A mutation that produces small (petite" > petite) anaerobic-like colonies had shown first in Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and described by Boris Ephrussi and his co-workers in 1949 in Gif-sur-Yvette, France. The cells of petite colonies were smaller than those of wild-type colonies, but the term “petite” refers only to colony size and not the individual cell size. Over 50