Molecular Identification and Genetic Relationships of Palestinian Grapevine Cultivars

Abstract

Palestine has a wide range of agro-ecological concerns and hosts a large variety of plants. Grapes are part of the cultural heritage and provide an indispensable food ingredient. Local cultivars have been traditionally identified on the basis of morphological traits, geographical origin, or names of the vineyard owner; therefore, the occurrence of homonymy, synonymy, and misnaming significantly prevents their valorization. DNA profiling by 22 common SSR markers was used to characterize 43 putative cultivars grown mainly for local table grape consumption at the southern highland regions of West-Bank, to further evaluate genetic diversity and relationships of the population. Consistent matching of SSR markers with grapevines cultivated in neighboring countries or maintained in European germplasm collections was found for 8 of the 21 different non-redundant genotypes discovered, suggesting possible synonyms as well as the occurrence of breeding selections formerly developed in the USA. Genetic relationships inferred from SSR markers clearly assigned Palestinian cultivars to the Proles orientalis subpr. Antasiatica ancestral population, and they even remarked the connection between local resources and cultivars generated from international table grape breeding. This study supports the value of collection and conservation of vines endemic to a region of immense historical importance for viticulture.

Collection and characterization of grapevine genetic resources (Vitis vinifera) in the Holy Land, towards the renewal of ancient winemaking practices

“…The last mentioned cultivars are all preserved in the Sataf and Neve-Yaar collections, as previously described by our group13. The comparison of SSR profiles with those reported in the European Vitis Database (www.eu-vitis.de) and in literature revealed that only 11 out of 61 Sativa genotypes were previously described1112 (identities are marked in the table of genetic profiles included in the Supplementary data, Table S1. )…”

“…The Sataf germplasm collection was genetically analyzed in 2008 by Klein and colleagues11, giving a first description as to the relatedness of 20 local genotypes to European V. vinifera groups. In addition, identification and genetic relationships among several accessions grown for local table grape consumption in the region was also recently reported12.…”

A multivariate approach for the ampelographic discrimination of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cultivars: application to local Syrian genetic resources

“…Conscious of the relevance of preserving these invaluable local genetic resources, and looking for the development of better adapted new grapevine cultivars and clones, the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry lands (ACSAD) established in 1996 a Gene Bank collection in the Jillin Research Station after the prospection of locally-grown traditional varieties. Despite its wide interest, and in contrast to local genetic resources from nearby regions (Aroutiounian et al 2015;Basheer-Salimia et al 2014;Chalak et al 2016;Drori et al 2017;Ekhvaia et al 2014;Ergül et al 2002;Eyduran et al 2015;Fatahi et al 2003;Khadivi-Khub et al 2014;Lamine et al 2014), few local Syrian grapevine cultivars have been adequately described so far (Sawaf et al 1976).…”

Liquid indigeneity

“…Trained in enology in Udine, Italy, Fadi Batarseh was part of an international research team analyzing “Molecular Identification and Genetic Relationships of Palestinian Grapevine Cultivars” (Basheer‐Salimia et al. ). Highlighting “the value of collection and conservation of vines endemic to a region of immense historical importance for viticulture,” biologists and enologists joined forces to identity the “trueness‐to‐type” of indigenous Palestinian cultivars and to use “this characterized plant material for future crop improvement” (Basheer‐Salimia et al.…”

“…Highlighting “the value of collection and conservation of vines endemic to a region of immense historical importance for viticulture,” biologists and enologists joined forces to identity the “trueness‐to‐type” of indigenous Palestinian cultivars and to use “this characterized plant material for future crop improvement” (Basheer‐Salimia et al. , 547). Terroir is here a prescriptive category of place, namely “a model for practice that has yet to become routinized, standardized, and embedded in either taskscapes or landscapes” (Paxson , 445).…”