Genetic Relationships of Chinese Grape Accessions to European and American Cultivars Assessed by Microsatellite Markers

TLDR: The results showed that all accessions could be divided into three major groups and the clustering pattern was related to the classical ecogeographical grouping: occidentalis, pontica and orientalis, suggesting the positive correlation between the cluster results and the geographical origin of the grape accessions.

Abstract: A total of 45 grape accessions were used to investigate the genetic polymorphism and relationships among Chinese and other European or America grape accessions by microsatellite markers. Eighty-six alleles were detected in 9 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci with an average of 9.6 alleles per locus. Genetic similarity ranged from 0.38 to 0.83 with an average value of 0.58. This indicated sufficient diversity among the accessions. Based on cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis, the results showed that all accessions could be divided into three major groups and the clustering pattern was related to the classical ecogeographical grouping: occidentalis, pontica and orientalis. Those from the same ecological group could cluster preferentially in most cases into one group, suggesting the positive correlation between the cluster results and the geographical origin of the grape accessions. Wine grapes were significantly differentiated from table grapes no matter whether the accessions were fr...