On the Gene Pool of Don Valley Grape Varieties

Abstract

For the first time, 41 grape varieties of the Don Valley (Rostov oblast) are genotyped, for most of them complete pedigree was restored. Contrary to the widely held belief, most varieties are not related to the Vitis vinifera cultivars of Western Europe and Transcaucasia. Only two varieties (Pukhlyakovskiy Belyi and Moldavskiy) are identical with respect to the varieties Coarna Alba and Coarna Neagra from Romania (Moldova). The Pukhlyakovskiy Belyi variety has made a certain contribution to the gene pool of the Don Valley cultivars, which allows us to suppose selective breeding based on this variety. A significant contribution to the origin of the varieties of the region is made by the Crimean variety Kokur Belyi, North Caucasian Asyl Kara and Koz Ouzioum. Some varieties of the Don Valley have no known ancestors among the 932 studied cultivars of V. vinifera from all over the world. The research allows us to take a fresh look at the historical contacts of the peoples of Southern Russia; it also stimulates further genetic studies of grape cultivars in the North Caucasus and Crimea, including wild vines.