'Kunbarat' and 'Kunleany' – full not half-siblings

Research Not

Grapevine DNA polymorphisms revealed by microsatellite-derived markers from soybean and rice

We report detection of DNA polymorphisms in grapevine by the use of microsatellite-flanking primer pairs from soybean and rice. These “cross species” microsatellite-derived markers were checked for their inheritance patterns in controlled grapevine crosses. They produced multiple bands that segregated and can be scored as individual genetic markers of dominant type. Employed in genetic mapping studies they offer advantages such as improved reproducibility in comparison to commonly used multi-locus marker systems like RAPDs and AFLPs.

The prolific grape variety (Vitis vinifera L.) ‘Heunisch Weiss’ (= ‘Gouais blanc’): bud mutants, “colored” homonyms and further offspring

‘Heunisch Weiss’ (syn. ‘Gouais blanc’) contributed to a considerable increase of our varietal assortment, including renowned varieties like ‘Chardonnay’ and ‘Riesling Weiss’. Three phenotypic variants of ‘Heunisch Weiss’ were discovered in the grapevine collection at the JKI Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof: (a) ‘Heunisch Dreifarbig’ (three coloured ‘Heunisch’; VIVC prime name ‘Heunisch Dreifarbig’) expressing intense anthocyanin coloration on shoots, inflorescences and leaf petioles before fruit set and even red berry skin at fruit set stage; (b) ‘Pekasore’ (VIVC prime name ‘Heunisch Rotgestreift’; red striped ‘Heunisch’;) with rose to red stripes on white berries and (c) the stenospermocarpic ‘Aspirant’ (VIVC prime name ‘Heunisch Weiss Seedless’). Four cultivars proving to be homonymous in relation to ‘Heunisch’ were investigated at 24 loci to determine their identity or relatedness to ‘Heunisch Weiss’, respectively. ‘Heunisch Schwarz’ turned out to be a ‘Heunisch Weiss’ offspring. No parent offspring relationship was detected for ‘Heunisch Rot’, ‘Haenisch Rot’ = ‘Pamid’, and ‘Heunisch Blau’ . Ampelographic description was carried out for some of the accessions to trace back historical evidences. In addition five new ‘Heunisch Weiss’ offsprings were identified and confirmed by analysing 35 nuclear microsatellite loci. The accession ‘Furmint Apiren’ turned out to be a seedless bud mutant of the ‘Heunisch Weiss’ offspring ‘Iordan’

Efficiency of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms to improve a genetic map of complex pedigree grapevines

A set of 47 SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) markers (Cabezas et al. 2011) was tested for their usefulness to improve a genetic map from the cross of GF.GA‑52-42 x 'Solaris' previously established with SSR markers (Schwander et al. 2012). 55.3 % of the SNPs showed informative segregation and 26 SNP markers were localized on 16 of the 19 linkage groups of grapevine. Five chromosome regions with large gaps of recombining SSR markers could be equipped by positioning a SNP marker there. One SNP marker, VV10992, was found linked to the major resistance locus Rpv10 and should be applicable for marker-assisted selection

The use of molecular markers for pyramiding resistance genes in grapevine breeding

The practical application of pyramiding resistance genes by the use of molecular markers was investigated in a F1 progeny derived from the cross of VHR 3082-1-42 x ‘Regent’. VHR 3082-1-42 is a cross between Muscadinia rotundifolia x Vitis vinifera, backcrossed another four times with V. vinifera (PAUQUET et al. 2001). It carries the Run1-gene which causes resistance to powdery mildew and the Rpv1-gene which is related to resistance against downy mildew. Both genes were introduced from Muscadinia rotundifolia (BOUQUET et al. 2000; WIEDEMANN-MERDINOGLU et al. 2006). ‘Regent’ is a new cultivar with quantitative resistance against downy and powdery mildew (EIBACH and TÖPFER 2003) released in Germany in 1996 for commercial use. 119 individuals of the F1 progeny were screened with a molecular marker for the Run1-gene (DONALD et al. 2002), with two SSR-markers for the Rpv1-gene (WIEDEMANN-MERDINOGLU et al. 2006) and with several markers from ‘Regent’ that showed good correlation to powdery and downy mildew resistance (ZYPRIAN et al. 2002, SALAKHUTDINOV et al. 2003, AKKURT 2004, FISCHER et al. 2004, AKKURT et al. 2007). Phenotypic evaluation for downy mildew resistance was done by artificial inoculation of leaf discs, and for powdery mildew by natural infection in a greenhouse. Comparison of the phenotypic data with the results of the molecular marker analyses showed a clear correlation between the degree of resistance and the presence of the resistance related alleles. According to the phenotypic data, 20 genotypes of the offspring were free of powdery and downy mildew infections. Based on a marker-assisted evaluation, out of these 20 genotypes a subset of four carried all the resistance related alleles for powdery and downy mildew indicating that resistance genes from both parents were effectively combined.

Genetic characterization of grape varieties in Armenia

Historically, grapes have been an important crop in Armenia. The world‘s earliest known wine-making facility has been discovered in Armenia during excavation of Areni-1 cave between 2007-2010, and analysis has confirmed the discovery of the oldest complete wine production facility ever discovered dated between 6,000 B.C. and 8,000 B.C. Having thousands of years history, Armenian native grape varieties are characterized with high genetic diversity and variability. The study has evaluated the genetic diversity of the Armenian grapevine cultivars within the Vitis collection of the Scientific Center of Fruit Growing, Viticulture and Wine-making (Merdzavan, Armenia) and analysed the relationships of this genetic pool with the international varieties registered in European Vitis Database. The analysis of 59 accessions of grapevines from Armenia at 23 microsatellite markers generated 336 alleles. The most informative locus turned out to be VVS2 (21 alleles, PI = 0.016). Twelve cases of identical genotypes and five cases of homonymy among studied genotypes were identified. The genetic profiles of 28 accessions were unique. Most of them belonged to autochthonous varieties. Genetic analyses tools are highly contributing to the identification and inventory of existing grape varieties. The data generated proves the importance of molecular characterization of grapevines in Armenia especially old ones to support effective preservation of rich diversity of Armenian grape varieties and clones

A simple, inexpensive and environmentally friendly method for high throughput DNA extraction from grapevine (Vitis spp.)

The extraction of DNA is a basic tool for molecular analyses, which is difficult for grapevine due to its content of secondary metabolites. In terms of purity and yield, DNA extraction kits are superior; however, they are also expensive. Here we describe an efficient protocol to re-use the DNeasy 96 Plant Kit from Qiagen GmbH (Hilden, Germany) by preparing homemade buffers and regenerating the commercial 96 column plates. Leaf tissue extractions of different grapevine samples resulted in genomic DNA with a high molecular weight and sufficient purity suitable for molecular studies like restriction assays or various amplification analyses. This high throughput method is especially economical and does not require the use of laboratory robotics for pipetting steps.

Grapevine breeding under climate change: Applicability of a molecular marker linked to véraison

Viticulture is of high economic value. Traditional grapevine cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.) are used in adaptation to the climatic conditions from Northern to Southern European growing areas. However, the recent trend of global warming causes quality deficits due to a shift of the plant's development to earlier times in the year. As a consequence, premature ripening happens under warm temperatures and interferes with the balanced accumulation of sugars, acids, aroma profiles and berry coloration. Modern grapevine breeding is challenged to include the ripening behavior as an important trait (besides pathogen resistance and other characteristics) into the development of novel cultivars well suited for sustainable viticulture. Breeders nowadays apply molecular markers to follow the introgression of desired traits on the genetic level. Previous work has identified a molecular tag on grapevine chromosome 16 strongly linked to the time of véraison, the start of the second phase of berry ripening, in a segregating cross population. In this study we analyzed the transferability of this marker to a set of 36 grapevine cultivars commonly used in German viticulture. Association analysis verified the predictive character of the time point of véraison for maturation time and confirmed the diagnostic potential of the véraison-linked marker in this extended set of cultivars