Genetic Structure and Relationships among Wild and Cultivated Grapevines from Central Europe and Part of the Western Balkan Peninsula

Abstract

The genetic diversity and relationship between wild (Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sylvestris (Gmel.) Hegi and cultivated (V. vinifera L. subsp. vinifera) grapevine in the western Balkan region and Central Europe have not been studied together previously, although this area has a rich viticultural past. Here, we studied wild grapevine populations sampled from their natural habitats in several countries of the western Balkan region and Central Europe. Their genetic diversity and structure were compared to cultivars that are traditionally in use in this region. A sample set of 243 accessions was genotyped at 20 nuclear microsatellite loci, including 167 sylvestris and 76 diverse vinifera cultivars. The genetic diversity of the wild grapevines was lower than that of cultivars by all genetic parameters. Both hierarchical and nonhierarchical clustering methods differentiated two main groups, indicating clear separation between wild and cultivated vines but also revealed clear gene flow between the cultivated and wild gene pools through overlaps and admixed ancestry values in the graphs. There was greater affinity to the wild grapes in Central European cultivars than in Balkan cultivars. Fine arrangement of the structure among cultivated grapevines showed differentiation among Central European and Balkan cultivars. These results confirm the divergence of wild grapes from vinifera and highlight the “crossroad” role of the western Balkan peninsula in the broader context of European viticulture.

The genomes of 204 Vitis vinifera accessions reveal the origin of European wine grapes

“…34 ). The Manseng family that was represented in the diversity panel by Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng and Riesling Bleu and is located midway in the PCA plane, as recently observed by 28 , between the Pinot/Savagnin Blanc parent–offspring pair and French/German populations of sylvestris is in close proximity with an accession classified by Laucou and coworkers 15 as a French sylvestris (B00ERBY). The pairs Pinot/B00ERBY, Savagnin Blanc/Petit Manseng, Savagnin Blanc/Riesling Bleu (collection Oberlin), and Petit Manseng/Gros Manseng share a parent–offspring relationship (Supplementary Fig.…”

Back to the Origins: Background and Perspectives of Grapevine Domestication

“…The main aims were to investigate the genetic structure of germplasm resources [ 34 , 35 , 36 ], to explain the relationship between vinifera and sylvestris [ 37 , 38 ] and to establish the parentages of relevant cultivars [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. A preponderant divergence between vinifera and sylvestris has been observed by several authors [ 38 , 44 , 45 ] but some studies have also identified a genetic signal that suggests the contribution of wild plants in the domestication process which occurred outside the main domestication area [ 37 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. Studies carried out on germplasm resources collected in the Caucasus have shown an unexpected diversity and richness [ 49 ] raising some doubts about the correct geographic place of the main domestication area [ 35 ].…”

“…Today little is known about the effect of introgression, but the continuing extinction of sylvestris plants with a significant reduction in gene diversity and heterozygosity of populations in respect to vinifera , is causing a serious demographic decline of wild grapevine [ 44 , 108 , 111 ]. An increasing number of studies have proposed that the maintenance and the conservation of wild populations should be a primary aim in Europe because these plants are a unique and fundamental genetic resource for the improvement of the cultivated grapevine in the future [ 45 , 60 , 80 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 ]. Some molecular studies have been proposed recently with the aim of studying genomic divergence between the two subspecies [ 45 , 62 , 116 ], but greater efforts should be made to explore the real level of introgression.…”

“…An increasing number of studies have proposed that the maintenance and the conservation of wild populations should be a primary aim in Europe because these plants are a unique and fundamental genetic resource for the improvement of the cultivated grapevine in the future [ 45 , 60 , 80 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 ]. Some molecular studies have been proposed recently with the aim of studying genomic divergence between the two subspecies [ 45 , 62 , 116 ], but greater efforts should be made to explore the real level of introgression. Moreover, some urgent issues which are still pending should be examined such as the effective direction and intensity of gene flow between wild and domesticated forms as well as the accurate estimation of admixture times ( Figure 2 ).…”

‘Pinore’: The New Red Wine Variety Cross-Bred between ‘Pinot Noir’ and ‘Regent’ Vines

“…The new crossing was also determined with SSR markers [23] and was analysed for disease-resistant loci [4]. The total genomic DNA was extracted using the NucleoSpin Plant II kit (Macherey-Nagel, Düren, Germany), and it was extracted from young leaves.…”