Genetic and ampelographic characterization of grapevine accessions maintained in the Lebanese national collection
From Firenze University Press Journal: Advances in Horticultural Science
A. Chehade, Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute, Tal Aamara, Department of Plant Biotechnology, Plant Genetic Resources Unit, P.O. Box 287, Zahleh, Lebanon.
L. Chalak, The Lebanese University, Faculty of Agronomy, Dekwane, Beirut, Lebanon
J. Merheb, The Lebanese University, Faculty of Agronomy, Dekwane, Beirut, Lebanon.
A. Elbitar, Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute, Tal Aamara, Department of Plant Biotechnology, Plant Tissue Culture Unit, P.O. Box 287, Zahleh, Lebanon.
E. Rmeily, Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute, Tal Aamara, Department of Pomology and Viticulture, P.O. Box 287, Zahleh, Lebanon.
N. Madi, The Lebanese University, Faculty of Agronomy, Dekwane, Beirut, Lebanon.
M. Massaad, The Lebanese University, Faculty of Agronomy, Dekwane, Beirut, Lebanon.
One of the main concerns for public research in viticulture today is the need to safeguard grapevine biodiversity by establishing well managed national repositories to ensure germplasm availability to breeders, researchers and farmers (Nass et al., 2012). There are presently around 130 grapevine germplasm collections across the word (Dettweiler et al., 2000). One of the first grapevine germplasm collections is the one established in Spain in 1950, which contains more than 1066 accessions (Ortiz et al., 2004). In France, more than 2,200 varieties originally collected from 35 countries are grouped together at the National Institute of Agronomic Research (Tessier et al., 1999). Similar collections of grapevine were also established USA and in Latin America containing grapevine accessions collected all over the world (Martinez et al., 2003). Grapevine is one of the oldest fruit crops growing in the Eastern Mediterranean region including Lebanon (Zohary, 2003).
The country was among the first worldwide to have implemented vineyards which gradually became a traditional culture in Lebanon for the production of both table grapes and wine (Chalak et al., 2016). Today viticulture occupies the eighth rank in the agricultural sector in the country, with a total production area of 9,240 hectares and an annual production of about 89,000 tons of table grapes (FA0, 2010; FAOSTAT, 2019) vs. 3,000 hectares dedicated to wine grape with an annual production of approximately 10,000 tones (Rahal, 2015). In addition, about 800 hectares of vineyards are intended for the production of Lebanese Arak (Roby, 2003). Commercial plantations of table grapes have long been constituted of four local varieties, commonly named ‘Tfayfihi’, ‘Baitamouni’, ‘Maghdouche’ and ‘Obeidy’. More recently, the new plantations in the country are mostly constituted of improved varieties imported from Europe and the United States. Around 77 varieties are imported to Lebanon. Nevertheless, the major share went mostly to ‘Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc’, ‘Syrah’, ‘Viognier’, ‘Chardonnay’ and ‘Merlot’ which represent 65% of the total saplings quantities imported during 20122014 (Tabaja, 2015). The long history of viticulture in Lebanon suggests the existence of a large indigenous germplasm associated to a wide range of traditional varieties that are well adapted to the various agroclimatic conditions of the country (Chalak et al., 2016).
In Lebanon and despite the increasing interest on the conservation and characterization of plant genetic resources in general, only few studies have addressed the local germplasm of grapevine, although it is threatened by various anthropogenic pressures including in particular the progressive replacement of local varieties by more advantageous improved foreign varieties that are regularly imported into the country (Riachi, 1998; Madi, 2007; Chalak et al., 2016; Rahme, 2016). To face the threat of genetic erosion and avoid the loss of traditional germplasm, the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI, Tal Amara station) established in 1998 a national grapevine collection containing numerous local accessions collected from different production areas across the country (Madi, 2007). Within the environmental change and the challenging predictions for the Eastern Mediterranean region including Lebanon (Santillán et al., 2019), there is a growing need to address the local genetic resources such as traditional varieties which are recognized to be more adapted to harsh conditions and having better tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses (FAO, 2015). Added to this, the wine industry is witnessing a new trend towards the utilization of the local traditional varieties in the production of typical and well prized wines. Therefore clonal selection, with the respect to specific traits, has become the most important way to improve the quality of grape cultivars.
As a consequence, there is a need for reliable and precise methods of clonal characterization for further use by breeders, nurseries and industries (Galet, 1998; Moreno et al., 1998). Ampelography is a scientific methodology that has long been the single method used for the characterization of grapevine phenotype, based on the description of different morphological, phenological and pomological characters (Galet, 1998; Sabir et al., 2009; Laucou et al., 2011). In addition to the ampelograhic description, in order to discriminate the varieties, synonyms, homonyms and the variation among the accessions, molecular methods has become more frequently used especially markers based on Polymerase chain reaction techniques (Riaz et al., 2012; Madhumati, 2014). Among the molecular approaches, the ISSR (Inter Sequence Simple Repeat) has being evaluated for its usefulness in grapevine cultivar identification and in assessing genetic diversity of grapevine germplasms (Moreno et al., 1998; Dhanorkar et al., 2005; Santiago et al., 2005; This et al., 2006; Sabir et al., 2009; Seyedimoradi et al., 2012; Choudhary et al., 2014; Castro et al., 2016). This study aimed to characterize the 43 local grape accessions preserved at the Lebanese National Collection of Grapevine at LARI using both ISSR markers and ampelographic descriptors. This work was conducted in an attempt to evaluate the diversity of the local germplasm for further actions of conservation and sustainable utilization of grapevine genetic resources in diversification strategies.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/ahsc-13045
Read Full Text: https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/ahs/article/view/13045
