engleski

AMPELOGRAPHIC AND GENETIC CHARACTERISATION OF CROATIAN GRAPEVINE VARIETIES

INTRODUCTION – Before Philloxera crisis in Croatia were more than 400 grape varieties under cultivation, but today their number is drastically decreased. Recently, many efforts in the preservation of grapevine biodiversity have been undertaken: detailed inventory of wine-growing regions, establishing of National and regional collections and their systematic ampelographic and genetic characterisation. Recent genetic research resulted in revealing synonyms and homonyms, as well as genetic relationship within Croatian native cultivars, as well as with cultivars from other regions. Evaluation of quality traits of native cultivars has also started. AIMS AND SCOPES – The main goals of this research are: to determine the number of Croatian native grapevine cultivars based on inventarisation of viticultural areas, ampelographic and genetic characterization ; to perform detailed ampelographic characterization using OIV descriptors ; to perform the genetic characterization of Croatian native grapevine cultivars using SSR markers and to determine the level of genetic variability within Croatian native grapevine cultivars. MATERIALS AND METHODS – Vines of a potentially native cultivars ware selected and marked and used as a source of propagating material for establishment of a National collection of Croatian grapevine cultivars located at experimental station Jazbina, at Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb. In this process more than 140 accessions were introduced to this collection. Phenotyping of collected accessions was performed using 47 OIV descriptors for grapevine cultivars and Vitis species that were selected within the GrapeGen 06 and used for cultivars description in European Vitis database. SSR genotyping was performed using a total of nine markers. Six SSR markers (VVS2, VVMD5, VVMD7, VVMD27, VrZAG62, VrZAG79) recommended by OIV and three additional ones (VVMD25, VVMD28, VVMD32) selected during the Grapegen06 project. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS – Based on results of inventarisation, ampelographic characterization and genetic characterization the list of 103 Croatian native grapevine cultivars is defined together with their synonyms and population status/vulnerability evaluation. Based on presented information on population status of Croatian native grapevine cultivars we can conclude that more than 50% of cultivars are critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. The results of ampelographic characterization of Croatian native cultivars are showing the high level of variability. Comparison of Croatian cultivars SSR profiles with the results of the other cultivars in EU- vitis database confirmed that majority of them are unique and exist only in Croatia. Since most of them are duplicated in grapevine germplasm collections throughout Croatia they are considered as “saved”. Ongoing genetic studies with increased number of SSR loci (>30) as well as use of SNP markers will allow us more detail analysis of genetic structure and relatedness of Croatian native cultivars. CONCLUSIONS AND POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS – The preserved native cultivars are presenting a good base for future development of Croatian viticulture and because of high genetic variability, as well as some traits that are detected within Croatian native cultivars they could be of interest to other countries for production as well as for breeding.

grapevine; native cultivars; Vitis vinifera L.

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