Chloroplast microsatellites to investigate the origin of grapevine

The origin of the grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. (ssp.) sativa has been investigated with archaeobotanical–archaeological, cultural and historical data indicating a unique domestication centre located in the Caucasianand Middel-East regions about 6–7000 years ago, but, events leading to the domestication of thisspecies are still an open issue. In this work, eight universal chloroplast microsatellites are used to assessgenetic relationships among varieties selected as representatives of four distinct geographical groups fromMiddle-East to Western European regions. Results show that two out of the eight analysed chloroplast lociare polymorphic within the 142 individuals. Allele variants of the cpSSR loci combine in a total of sixdifferent haplotypes. The analysis of haplotypes distribution and haplotype diversity (HD) suggest that onlythree out of the six haplotypes are represented in the Caucasian and Middle-East samples, with 90% ofindividuals sharing the same haplotype. Moreover, the presence of all six haplotypes in the Europeanaccessions, with a high level of haplotype diversity, suggests varietal influx in these areas. Concerning theWestern European varieties, especially in Spanish accessions, half of the individuals share haplotype VIwhich is completely absent in the Caucasian and Middle-East cultivars. This result opens the discussionabout the existence of a unique and common domestication centre, located in the Caucasian and Middle-East area, for all the European cultivars.This work suggests the usefulness of chloroplast genome markers to provide information on haplotypedistributions that could help to identify further geographical areas for grapevine varietal evolution.