In viticulture, biotype identification problems have traditionally been solved using ampelography, ampelometry and chemical traits analysis. However, these tools have resulted in several false attributions, in particular when used at the clonal level. The availability of relatively cheap, reliable and reproducible tools to identify genetic differences at the clonal level would greatly facilitate the work of clonal patenting. In this work, 24 accessions of ‘Traminer’ cultivars were characterized using molecular markers. Three different approaches were applied: simple sequence repeats (SSR), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and methyl‐sensitive amplified length polymorphism (MSAP). Results showed that SSRs were not a powerful tool for clonal distinction. In contrast, the AFLP technique was able to distinguish 16 out of the 24 cultivars, even though the average similarity was high (97.1%). The MSAP technique was used to evaluate qualitative differences in the degree of DNA methylation among clones. Results suggest that morphological differences among clones are probably due to the synergetic effect of genetic and epigenetic modifications, and that clonal identification could be greatly improved using molecular tools such as AFLP and MSAP.
<p style="text-align: justify;">PCR-based microsatellite analysis has been applied to define the relationships among 238 grapevine cultivars selected as representative of local germplasm in the Central and Western Mediterranean regions.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The estimation of genetic distances among the five grapevines groups, based on cluster analysis, c2 tests and Principal Component Analysis, was coherent with a common geographic origin of cultivated grapes and of their primordial varietal radiation. In fact, genetic similarity was high among French and Iberian cultivars and among Greek and Balkan cultivars. The Italian grapes clustered in an intermediate position, reflecting its geographical location. Results show that the geographical distribution is consistent with a pattern of viticulture based on the origin of primordial varieties from regions in the Near East, and subsequent and multiple variety flows that linked different viticultural regions through different routes. This is coherent with the model of varietal diffusion proposed on the bases of archaeological and historical evidence, in which population movements and cultural exchange contributed to the phenomenon.</p>
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