Waeil Abdelhamid Al-Youssef⁽¹⁾ Wasim Ismaiel Muhsen*⁽²⁾ Rahim Abdelsalam Abu-Aljadael⁽¹⁾ Noor Ghazzi Alasaad⁽¹⁾ and Abdullah Farhan Altaher⁽¹⁾

(1). Biotechnology Department, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
(2). Biotechnology Directorate, Agricultural Research Center of Sweida, GCSAR, Damascus, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Email: wasimmo6@yahoo.com).

Received: 30/09/2015                                      Accepted: 27/03/2016

Abstract

This research was carried out during 2010–2012 at the Biotechnology Department, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Researches (GCSAR), Syria. This study aimed to document and determine the genetic variations to detect the mixture between the grape rootstock B41 trees (propagated in Damascus suburb, Homs, Aleppo and Al-Raqqa governorates), by using SSR technique (simple sequence repeats). 45 trees representing the rootstock B41 were selected based on their morphological characteristics. The results of molecular analyses showed that five primers pairs out of 20 grape specific SSR primers (VVMD5, VVMD6, VVMD7, VVMD28 and VVMD32) could determine the genetic variations among the studied trees. Four primers pairs except the VVMD6 could determine two incompatible trees with the B41 rootstock in Kharabo nursery in Damascus suburb, moreover, three primers; VVMD7, VVMD28 and VVMD32 determined one different tree in Babnes nursery in Aleppo, and two primers pairs; VVMD5 and VVMD28 detected one different tree in Alsheikh Hmeed nursery in Homs. In contrast, all the studied trees located in Al-Raqqa nursery were compatible with the studied rootstock B41. As a result of this study, the incompatible trees with the rootstock B41 were eliminated and the identical ones were approved and authorized in order to regenerate in nurseries and vineyards to be distributed later to the farmers as a reliable and trusty rootstock. Also, this study emphasized on the importance of using molecular markers methods based on PCR technique to detect the genetic variations and fingerprints of the genetic plant resources to save them not to be mixed, because of their high accuracy in comparison with morphological markers.

Keywords: Grape rootstock B41, Phylloxera insect, Molecular markers, SSR technique.

Full paper in Arabic: Detection of the Genetic Variation among Grape Rootstock B41 Trees in the Syrian Agricultural Ministry Nurseries using SSR Markers