Genetic diversity and parentage analysis of grape rootstocks.

KEY MESSAGE: The maternal and paternal parentage of 36 rootstocks was determined and verified. The results of this study indicate that existing grape rootstocks are closely related to each other and have a narrow genetic background. Rootstocks are used to protect grapevines from biotic and abiotic stresses including phylloxera, nematodes, viruses, limestone-based soils, salinity and drought. The most important rootstocks were developed from three grape species between the 1890s and the 1930s in European breeding programs. In this report, we developed nuclear and chloroplast SSR fingerprint data from rootstock selections maintained in germplasm collections, compared them to develop a reference dataset, and carried out parentage analysis to resolve previously reported, and determine new, breeding records. We refined and updated the parentage of 26 rootstocks based on 21 nuclear and 14 chloroplast markers. Results indicate that 39% of the genetic background of analyzed rootstocks originated from only three accessions of three grape species: Vitis berlandieri cv. Rességuier 2, V. rupestris cv. du Lot and V. riparia cv. Gloire de Montpellier. Results determined that Rességuier 2 is the maternal parent for 14 commercial rootstocks, 9 of which are full-sibs with Gloire de Montpellier as the paternal parent. Similarly, du Lot is the paternal parent of nine rootstocks. The pedigree information for 28 rootstocks was determined or corrected in this study. The previously reported pedigree information for eight of the rootstocks was correct. The results found that the world's existing rootstocks have a narrow genetic base derived from only a few American grape species. Future rootstock breeding efforts should use a more diverse array of species to combat a changing climate and pest pressure.