L. Braglia

Amplified fragment length polymorphism markers for DNA fingerprinting in the genus Salvia

Abstract The interspecific relationships among 51 worldwide collected accessions of Salvia have been investigated using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique. The assessed genetic similarities allowed us to group the genotypes into two main clusters according to their geographical origin. Our results are encouraging for further characterization of the genus with the aim to clarify Salvia taxonomy.

The Tubulin-Based-Polymorphism Method Provides a Simple and Effective Alternative to the Genomic Profiling of Grape.

The TBP (Tubulin-Based-Polymorphism) method, based on a nuclear ILP (Intron-Length-Polymorphism) molecular marker, has been used for genotyping 37 accessions of the genus Vitis inclusive of different species, rootstocks, wild and cultivated subspecies. A distinct DNA barcode made up by a different number of amplicons, was attributed to each of the different accessions. TBP data were compared with those obtained, with the use of an internationally validated set of six SSR markers. Genetic relationships among the different accessions, dendrogram distributions, correlation values and polymorphic index values (PICs) were definitively comparable when not in favor of TBP. Such an experimental consistency is based upon a genomic organization of the multiple members of the β-tubulin gene family, the targets of TBP-mediated amplification, that is conserved in Vitis as in any other plant species. The TBP amplicons can actually be used as a useful source of sequence polymorphisms for generating primer pairs capable of identifying specific cultivars in a simple assay. An example for the identification of the ‘Sangiovese’ cv. is reported. More generally, these data are discussed in terms of the actual advantages that the introduction of the TBP method in the field of grape characterization and genotyping can provide.