Evangelia V. Avramidou

Abstract: Prunus avium cultivars widely used in northern Greece were investigated in terms of inter- and intra-cultivar genetic variation and DNA fingerprinting. Based on 11 simple sequence repeats loci, the average number of alleles per locus (N-a = 2.82), probability of identity (P-ID = 0.327), polymorphic information content (0.451) and expected heterozygosity (H-e = 0.494) were within the range reported in similar studies. The most informative markers were BPPCT039 and EMPa018. The cultivars were clearly separated in both an unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean dendrogram and a multivariate space ordination. Any two cultivars differed on the average at 6.30 loci. The null hypothesis of zero intra-cultivar variability was tested and could not be rejected. Two cultivars (Tragana Edessis and Tragana Sarakinon) were genetically similar, but not identical. This study, the first of its kind for sweet cherry in Greece, presents a useful molecular tool for resolving issues of intra-cultivar variability and synonimity and provides a warranty of genetic identity in the handling and management of local traditional germplasm.

Abstract: As genetic improvement of forest trees still relies heavily on the selection of elite individuals from natural populations, 36 Prunus avium plus trees originating from four northern Greek populations were established in a gene conservation plantation. Their fingerprinting, genetic diversity and relationships were investigated based on 14 variable microsatellite loci. Notable amounts of genetic diversity were observed (P = 93.3, N-a = 3.270). The allelic variation detected was sufficient for unambiguous DNA fingerprinting. Mean polymorphic information content and diversity index were 0.473 and 0.536, respectively. The total value of the probability of identity was 3.13 x 10(-9). A principal coordinate analysis showed the formation of five groups in a two-dimensional multivariate space that explained 56.3 per cent of the total variation. Groups corresponded to populations, although the selected plus trees from one population corresponded to two distinct groups. The wild cherry germplasm collection was compared with a collection of five of the most widely known sweet cherry cultivars of northern Greece, by employing 11 commonly variable microsatellite loci. Results of a principal coordinate analysis indicated the diverse origin of this material as sweet cherry cultivars formed a short independent cluster, which was conspicuously differentiated from all wild cherry individuals in a graph of the first two principal coordinates.

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