Wild grapes of Armenia: unexplored source of genetic diversity and disease resistance

Kristine Margaryan; Reinhard Töpfer; Boris Gasparyan; Arsen Arakelyan; Oliver Trapp; Franco Röckel; Erika Maul

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1276764

Wild grapes of Armenia: unexplored source of genetic diversity and disease resistance

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Dec 8:14:1276764. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1276764. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Kristine Margaryan^{1

2}, Reinhard Töpfer³, Boris Gasparyan⁴, Arsen Arakelyan¹, Oliver Trapp³, Franco Röckel³, Erika Maul³

Affiliations

¹ Research Group of Plant Genomics, Institute of Molecular Biology of National Academy of Sciences Republic of Armenia (RA), Yerevan, Armenia.
² Department of Genetics and Cytology, Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia.
³ Julius Kuehn-Institute (JKI), Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof, Siebeldingen, Germany.
⁴ Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences Republic of Armenia (RA), Yerevan, Armenia.

Abstract

The present study is the first in-depth research evaluating the genetic diversity and potential resistance of Armenian wild grapes utilizing DNA-based markers to understand the genetic signature of this unexplored germplasm. In the proposed research, five geographical regions with known viticultural history were explored. A total of 148 unique wild genotypes were collected and included in the study with 48 wild individuals previously collected as seed. A total of 24 nSSR markers were utilized to establish a fingerprint database to infer information on the population genetic diversity and structure. Three nSSR markers linked to the Ren1 locus were analyzed to identify potential resistance against powdery mildew. According to molecular fingerprinting data, the Armenian V. sylvestris gene pool conserves a high genetic diversity, displaying 292 different alleles with 12.167 allele per loci. The clustering analyses and diversity parameters supported eight genetic groups with 5.6% admixed proportion. The study of genetic polymorphism at the Ren1 locus revealed that 28 wild genotypes carried three R-alleles and 34 wild genotypes carried two R-alleles associated with PM resistance among analyzed 107 wild individuals. This gene pool richness represents an immense reservoir of under-explored genetic diversity and breeding potential. Therefore, continued survey and research efforts are crucial for the conservation, sustainable management, and utilization of Armenian wild grape resources in the face of emerging challenges in viticulture.

Keywords: Armenia; SSR marker; genetic diversity; resistance; wild grapevine.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by DAAD, grant number 57552334, Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports RA, Higher Education and Science Committee, grant number 21T-1F076 and by ANSO-CR-PP-2020-04-A project.