Use of SSR markers to study the biodiversity of grapevines from campania region.

Italy is one of the biggest grapevine producers. In 2010 it ranked second in the world after China (FAO 2012). Campania is one of the most important producers, with more than 100 varieties. This provides an outstanding oenological potential. In this contest, food typicity and authenticity are essential to preserve this germplasm and protect producers and consumers from the frauds. The aim of this work was to study the genetic diversity of 23 grapevines from Campania using 21 SSR markers (Simple Sequence Repeats), chosen because they are universally used for the genetic identification of grape varieties. Results revealed a total of 165 alleles with an average of 8 alleles per marker, ranging from 2 (CCMP5) to 11 (VrZAG79, VVMD25). Mean values of observed and expected heterozigosity were 0.58 and 0.74, respectively. The power of discrimination was greater than 0.94 in all loci assayed. In addition, for each locus an average of 2.4 specific alleles were found. They may be useful for the unambiguous identification of the material analyzed. Cluster analysis lacked well supported groupings, probably supporting the genetic heterogeneity of studied varieties. The comparison between SSR and ampelographic –based data is discussed.