In this article:
With established ampelographic techniques for grapevine identication it is often difficult to achieve a satisfactory, objective result.
We have developed a DNA typing system using sequence-tagged microsatellite site markers as a means of differentiating cultivars of grapevine.
A semi-automated analysis procedure was linked to an electronic database and found to be an objective and reliable system for cultivar identification using this simple marker type.
The accumulated DNA typing data for over eighty cultivars demonstrated that cultivars that are difficult to differentiate phenotypically using ampelographic techniques can be distinguished by DNA typing.
Parentage analysis uncovered errors in parent assignment or cultivar identification in specific cases. The electronic database has a conservative format to take into account the occurrence of null alleles and the possibility of missed alleles.
Computer-assisted comparisons of cultivars in the database can be performed and various approaches for estimating the match probability that two unrelated cultivars have the same genotype due to chance are discussed.
We suggest that further development of the database through international co-operation using standardised sequence-tagged site markers offers the possibility of achieving a universal grapevine identification system
DNA Typing of Grapevine: A Universal Methodology and Database Describing Cultivars and Evaluating Genetic Relatedness
1994, Plant Molecular Biology, vol 25, pages 939-949