Proceedings of the XLV Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress

Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy - 26/29 September, 2001

ISBN 88-900622-1-5

Poster Abstract

IDENTIFICATION, CONSERVATION, AND SUSTAINABLE PROMOTION OF NEGLECTED ITALIAN AGRO-ECOTYPES OF LENTIL

PIERGIOVANNI A.R., GALASSO I., PIGNONE D., SONNANTE G.

CNR - Istituto del Germoplasma, Bari, Italy

Lens culinaris, molecular markers, genetic resources, chromosome characterisation, seed quality

At the beginning of the 20^th century Italy was a major producer of lentil; nowadays the cultivation of this crop only continues in marginal areas of Central and Southern Italy and in some small islands. Over the last century many local agro-ecotypes have disappeared. Only the "lenticchia di Castelluccio", grown in Umbria region, has obtained a stable market position, mostly as a consequence of the attribution of the PGI (Protected Geographic Indication) mark, which assures better farmers' income as a result of higher market prices that the protected product can get.

The remaining agro-ecotypes are mostly cultivated for self consumption and have not received sufficient research attention to assess their specificity. Consequently, their genetic, nutritional and economic value is almost entirely unknown. To attempt filling this lack of information, a multidisciplinary study was conducted on Italian agro-ecotypes of lentil: biochemical and technological characterisation, cloning of repeated DNA sequences, and study of the polymorphism of DNA amplificates (RAPDs, ISSRs, etc.) were accompanied by cytogenetic assessments.

SDS-PAGE evidenced some peculiarities for the S. Stefano ecotype: all its individuals possessed a specific form of a peptide below 36 kDa. Moreover, this ecotype showed the highest level of intra-population variation, whereas no variation at all was observed among Pantelleria and Linosa individuals.

Some specific ISSR bands were found for Villalba and Altamura ecotypes; ISSR markers also revealed a high degree of similarity among the ecotypes from small Sicily islands (Pantelleria, Linosa, and Ustica), as well as between the ecotypes from Onano and Colfiorito.

A repetitive sequence, isolated from the Ustica ecotype, revealed no variation among the ecotypes and was specific to the genus Lens. A standard karyotype for lentil was obtained after in situ hybridisation with this sequence.

The data collected indicate that the multidisciplinary approach allows the characterisation of the Italian agro-ecotypes and the identification of some peculiar genotypes. Therefore, within this framework, some genotypes could be proposed for the attribution of EC protection marks, with consequent promotion of the conservation of this endangered germplasm.