Intra-varietal genetic diversity of the grapevine cultivar Nero d’Avola as revealed by microsatellite markers

The Sicilian grape cultivar ‘Nero d’Avola’ is among the oldest and most cultivated in the island, taking part in the production of several red
wines exported worldwide, including DOC wines (Etna Rosso and Cerasuolo di Vittoria). Due to the ancient origin and repeated clonally propagation of the cultivar, phenotypic variability has been observed.
Clone identification in this important cultivar has so
far relied on phenotypic and chemical traits analyses,
often affected by environmental conditions. Genetic markers, such as microsatellites, are particularly useful for cultivar identification, parentage testing, pedigree reconstruction and population structure studies. In the present paper, microsatellites were used to analyze the intra-varietal genetic diversity
among 118 plants of ‘Nero d’Avola’, collected in 30
vineyards displaced in different areas of Sicily. Out of 22 microsatellites, 11 showed polymorphism among
samples and 15 different phylogenetic groups were
identified. Results show that ‘Nero d’Avola’ actually
comprises different genetic profiles, although most of
clones share a common origin.