The European Vitis Database (www.eu-vitis.de) – a technical innovation through an online uploading and interactive modification system

The objective of the European Vitis Database is to safeguard and enhance germplasm by monitoring its preservation. Two issues are strongly related to that purpose: (1) participation of collections covering almost all grape biodiversity and (2) assessment of accessions trueness to type. In the scope of the European project GrapeGen06 efforts have been made towards both objectives. The 35 participating grape germplasm repositories are found between the Iberian Peninsula and Transcaucasia, thus covering a broad range of grape diversity. Altogether they maintain 32,410 accessions. However with respect to biodiversity, gaps are still evident and further collections need to be included and trueness to type assessment absolutely needs to be pursued to organize duplication of endangered genotypes. Within the GrapeGen06 project focus was laid on the establishment of a database conferring the collection holders a high degree of responsibility and independence. Hence for the first time in a European Central Crop Database an on-line uploading application and an interactive modification system for data administration was implemented. These innovations disburden the database manager and offer the curators of collections more flexibility. Prerequisites for data import, descriptors applied, access levels, database contents, uploading, export and search functions are described

Analysis of Wine-Producing <em>Vitis vinifera</em> L. Biotypes, Autochthonous to Crete (Greece), Employing Ampelographic and Microsatellite Markers

Vitis vinifera ssp. vinifera (domesticated grapevine) includes thousands of cultivars, which are classified according to their main uses, as wines, fresh fruits or dried raisins and sultanas since ancient times. Evidence showed that Crete grapevine cultivars and winemaking date back to 2300 BC. In this study, fifty-one genotypes belonging to seven different traditional Vitis vinifera cultivars, presumed autochthonous to the island of Crete, were selected for their wine-producing potential and classified by 51 ampelographic descriptors. In addition, five genotypes belonging to two non-autochthonous cultivars were included as out-group controls. Subsequently, in order to characterize genetic diversity, establish genetic relationships within and between cultivars and solve accession-labeling problems, genotypes were fingerprinted employing Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR or microsatellite) markers. Four of the autochthonous cultivars namely ‘Vidiano’, ‘Vilana’, ‘Plyto’, and ‘Moschato Spinas’ are used in the local economy for blanc (white) wine production while the rest, namely ‘Kotsifali’, ‘Liatiko’ and ‘Mantilari’ for Noir (red) wines. The two cultivars employed as out-group were ‘Moschato Samou’ and ‘Moschato Alexandrias’: both white wine producers. Ampelography-based clustering grouped the majority of genotypes along cultivar-specific clusters. All three Moschato cultivars formed a distinct clade pointing to the non-autochthonous origin of ‘Moschato Spinas’. A total of one hundred and thirteen (113) SSR alleles were amplified from thirteen (13) SSR loci, with an average number of alleles per locus equal to 10.23 revealing ample genetic polymorphism. The cumulative probability of identity was also quite high (3.389 × 10−16). The overall observed heterozygosity was 0.837 while for twenty-nine of the examined genotypes, at least one private SSR allele was detected. The majority of genotypes were grouped in cultivar-specific clusters. The results of this paper pave the way for the certification and registration of clones of some of the most important wine-producing cultivars in Crete

Grapevine European catalogue: towards a comprehensive list

Contact: [email protected] european catalogue: towards a comprehensive lis

The European Vitis Database (www.eu-vitis.de) \u2013 a technical innovation through an online uploading and interactive modification system

The objective of the European Vitis Database is to enhance germplasm safeguard by monitoring its preservation. Two issues are strongly related to that purpose: (1) participation of collections covering almost all grape biodiversity and (2) assessment of accessions trueness to type. In the scope of the European project GrapeGen06 efforts have been made towards both directions. The 33 participating grape germplasm repositories are found between the Iberian Peninsula and Transcaucasia, thus covering a broad range of grape diversity

Grapevine European catalogue: towards a comprehensive list

The present attempt to establish a comprehensive and harmonized list of grapevine varieties authorized in Europe represents the contribution of the group of experts within the project GrapeGen06. In no case is this work intended to substitute for administrative initiatives in progress and has the sole aim to make available to professionals a usable document. To the involved people, the list presented here is a tool that will facilitate the implementation of the European regulations on grapevine. It also offers a panorama of the European grapevine genetic potential, thus enabling to specify whose responsibilities are involved and how much efforts should be produced to plan a sound genetic resources protection and further breeding. In this respect it is worth to underline the fact that over half of the varieties are registered in only one Member State. This opens new perspectives emphasizing the importance of European inter-institute cooperation for sharing conservation and breeding responsibilities. Considering the natural evolution of the national catalogues of grape varieties in each Member State and the progress in grape variety identification, it would be necessary to consider an annual update of this European harmonized catalogue