Chloroplast microsatellites to investigate the origin of grapevine

The origin of the grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. (ssp.) sativa has been investigated with archaeobotanical–archaeological, cultural and historical data indicating a unique domestication centre located in the Caucasianand Middel-East regions about 6–7000 years ago, but, events leading to the domestication of thisspecies are still an open issue. In this work, eight universal chloroplast microsatellites are used to assessgenetic relationships among varieties selected as representatives of four distinct geographical groups fromMiddle-East to Western European regions. Results show that two out of the eight analysed chloroplast lociare polymorphic within the 142 individuals. Allele variants of the cpSSR loci combine in a total of sixdifferent haplotypes. The analysis of haplotypes distribution and haplotype diversity (HD) suggest that onlythree out of the six haplotypes are represented in the Caucasian and Middle-East samples, with 90% ofindividuals sharing the same haplotype. Moreover, the presence of all six haplotypes in the Europeanaccessions, with a high level of haplotype diversity, suggests varietal influx in these areas. Concerning theWestern European varieties, especially in Spanish accessions, half of the individuals share haplotype VIwhich is completely absent in the Caucasian and Middle-East cultivars. This result opens the discussionabout the existence of a unique and common domestication centre, located in the Caucasian and Middle-East area, for all the European cultivars.This work suggests the usefulness of chloroplast genome markers to provide information on haplotypedistributions that could help to identify further geographical areas for grapevine varietal evolution

study of genetic relationships between wild and domesticated grapevines distributed from the middle-east regions to european countries

Archaeobotanical-archaeological, cultural and historical data indicatethat grapevine domestication can be dated back from 6000 to 7000 yearsago and that it took place in the Caucasian and Middle East Regions. However,events leading to the domestication of this crop species are still an openissue. In this paper, 6 chloroplast microsatellites have been used to assessgenetic similarities among, and within, domesticated and wild grapevine accessions representative of 7 distinct geographical regions fromtheMiddle-Eastto Western Europe. Results show that 2 out of the 6 analyzed chloroplast lociare polymorphicwithin the 193 domesticated individuals and the 387 samplesof 69 wild populations. Allele variants of the Cp-SSR loci combine in a totalof 6 different haplotypes. The data show that the haplotype distribution is nothomogeneous: the 6 haplotypes are present in the domesticated varieties, butonly 5 (haplotype VI is absent) are observed in wild populations.The analysisof haplotype distribution allows discussion of the relationships between thetwo grape subspecies. The contribution of the wild grape germplasm to the domesticatedgene pool still growing in different geographical regions can be, incases, made evident, suggesting that beside domestication, gene introgressionhas also played a role in shaping the current varietal landscape of the Europeanviticulture