Elucidating the genetic variations among Turkish grape varieties using morphological and molecular markers

Abstract

Türkiye is considered the intersection point of three biodiversity centers in the world and serving as a gene center for grapes as well as for many fruit species. Grape is an important fruit thanks to its benefits to human health and its multiple usage. This study was carried out to identify the morphological and molecular diversity of 18 local and commercial grape varieties widely grown in the Kayseri province of Türkiye. Morphological (bunch, berry and leaf characteristics) and molecular (intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to determine genetic diversity in the studied germplasm. The bunch, berry and leaf characteristics of the varieties showed differences. In the study, bunch weight varied 151.33–476.66 g, berry weight 1.52–7.44 g, maturity index 11.59–41.87% and leaf area 63.62–199.15 cm2. The principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using morphological traits and first two PCs accounted a total of 55% of the total variations. In molecular marker analysis, 69 bands were obtained from 10 ISSR primers. Among these total, 48 of the bands were found polymorphic and polymorphism rate was calculated as 64.77%. Genetic distance revealed Gül Üzümü and Red Globe as the most genetically distinct varieties. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed maximum genetic variations due to the difference within the populations. The Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) divided studied germplasm into two populations. The results obtained may benefit researchers in the determination and protection of gene sources in breeding studies on grape varieties and genotypes.