Differentiation of Greek grapevine cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.) based on the combination of ampelographic description and microsatellite markers

Abstract

Greek vineyards are characterized by a great number of indigenous grapevine cultivars as well as grapevine cultivars of eastern origin. Due to their age-old lineage and cultivation in Greece, most of those cultivars exhibit an even greater number of biotypes and mutations which frequently lead to an improper use of synonyms and homonyms. The aim of this study was the identification and discrimination of twelve grapevine cultivars cultivated in Greece by means of the seventy-four OIV descriptors, followed by the molecular analysis of five microsatellite markers on each grapevine biotype and cultivar during the years 2015, 2016, and 2017, on the basis of a list of ampelographic descriptors developed by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV in OIV descriptor list for grape varieties and Vitis species, 2nd edn, Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin, 2009. http://oiv.int/en/technical-standards-and-documents/description-of-grape-varieties), followed by the molecular analysis of five microsatellite markers. The studied grapevine cultivars were clustered according to their origin; grapevine cultivars of eastern origin were placed within the same cluster of the dendrogram, while the high degree of genetic similarity of grapevine cultivars ‘Avgoulato’, ‘Korithi lefko’, ‘Kolokythas’ and ‘Baresana’ bear to one another corroborates the hypothesis that all of them were formed by mutations from the same single cultivar. With regard to the indigenous grapevine cultivars, ‘Zalovitiko’ proved to be a synonym of ‘Xinomavro’, while the low degree of genetic similarity between grape cultivars ‘Korithi mavro’ and ‘Korithi lefko’ suggests that they are different and do not constitute colour mutations, as it had been believed so far. In most cases, the molecular findings confirmed the results of the ampelographic description. More importantly, they indicated that only the combination of the ampelographic description with molecular markers can allow for a more effective identification and discrimination of grapevine cultivars.