Analysis of the relationship between grapevine cultivars, sports and clones via DNA fingerprinting

Guang-Ning Ye(1), Gökhan Soylemezoglu(2), Norman F. Weeden, Warren F. Lamboy, Robert M. Pool, and Bruce I. Reisch. 1998. Analysis of the relationship between grapevine cultivars, sports and clones via DNA fingerprinting. Vitis 37:33-38.

Department of Horticultural Sciences, Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY 14456 USA

Summary: DNA fingerprinting utilizing RAPD polymorphisms was employed to investigate the relationship among 16 grapevine cultivars and sports thought to have arisen from these cultivars. From 53 primers, a total of 464 bands were generated, of which 29% were common to all genotypes tested. Cluster analysis classified all tested cultivars into two main groups (V. vinifera L. and V. X Labruscana Bailey) as expected. No polymorphism was detected among known clones of 'Chardonnay' ('Chardonnay' clone 7, 'Chardonnay' clone 78 and 'Chardonnay' Geneva clone) or 'Pinot noir' ('Pinot noir' clone 29, 'Pinot noir' Geneva clone and 'Pinot noir' Pernand). 'Pinot Meunier', 'Pinot gris', and 'Gamay Beaujolais' displayed patterns indistinguishable from 'Pinot noir'. 'Auxerrois' and 'Melon' showed unique patterns, and may be classified as distinct cultivars. 'Chardonnay' clone 7 shared 84% of its bands with 'Pinot noir'. There was more than 97% RAPD amplicon homology between 'Niagara' and 2 supposed sports, and between 'Concord' and a red-fruited sport. Taking into account the error rate in scoring RAPD bands, the evidence is against the hypothesis that the three sports are distinct cultivars. While RAPD banding patterns could not distinguish between known clones, they were useful for distinguishing between phenotypically similar cultivars, and for assessing the origins of cultivars thought to have originated as sports.

Key words: RAPD, PCR, polymorphism, cultivar identification, Vitis, wine grapes, juice grapes