Phylogeny of Vitis species based on a VvMybA1 marker analysis

Abstract

The family Vitaceae contains 14 genera and about 900 species distributed in northern temperate regions. East Asia and North America are the main growing areas, with approximately 25-30 and 30-40 taxa, respectively. In Europe, Vitis vinifera (V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris, V. vinifera subsp. vinifera) is the only species that grows in the Mediterranean Basin. Nowadays, increasing interest in wild grapes is due to their possible utilization in resistance breeding. Several studies have attempted to clarify the relationship of taxa within the genus Vitis with various DNA markers, without reaching unambiguous conclusions. In our preliminary studies with marker 20D18CB9, which is linked to the VvMybA1 transcription-factor gene which regulates anthocyanin biosynthesis, polymorphism between V. vinifera and other Vitis species was detected. Therefore, we assumed that it was suitable for further examinations to reconstruct a new phylogenetic tree within the family Vitaceae. Based on sequenced PCR fragments generated with the 20D18CB9 primer pair, more single-nucleotide polymorphisms were detected, and most of the North American species have a 34-bp deletion, so they form a separate group. The Asian species, which do not contain this deletion, belong to another group. However, some North American accessions also lacked this 34-bp DNA deletion. According to our results, a new phylogenetic relationship of Vitis species was set up using this VvMybA1-linked marker.