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

Giardini Naxos, Italy - 18/21 September, 2002

ISBN 88-900622-3-1

Poster Abstract - 1.30

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF FOREIGN AND ITALIAN VARIETIES OF WALNUT COMPARED WITH CLONES OF SORRENTO VARIETY

FORONI I.*, ANDREAKIS N.**, WOESTE K.***, PICCIRILLO P.****, GALLITELLI M.*****

*) Università di Napoli “Federico II” Facoltà di Agraria, Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e dell’Ambiente, Portici

**) Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”, Napoli

***) Hardwood tree improvement and regeneration center Purdue University

****) Sperimentale per la Frutticoltura, sezione di Caserta (ISF-CE)

*****)Metapontum Agrobios Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Vegetali

Juglans regia, SSR polymorphism, genetic variability

The “Sorrento walnut” is a typical product of Campania whose national production supremacy is held by Campania region. Its cultivation is going through a period of crisis due above all to a strong genetic lack of homogeneity of the product, with consequent repercussions on the commmercial phase.

The aim of this research is to highlight the presence of “simple sequence repeat” polymorphism in genomic DNA of walnut Juglans regia in order to characterize the distribuition of the genetic entities present on the territory and/or coming from germplasm collection made available by the Istituto Sperimentale per la Frutticoltura (CE) compared with French and American varieties widespread on European markets.

The analysis of the SSR polymorphism amplification patterns, carried out through amplicon separation by agarose gel elettrophoresis, has revealed that, in plants obtained from seed of Sorrento plants, most of SSR tested exhibit a high level of genetic polymorphism with size of fragments ranging from 650 to 100 base pair and a number of alleles per locus preliminary individualized variable between 2 and 5.

For vegetative propagated samples see no SSR polymorphism was reaveled.

Including in the sample panel the French and American varieties, new alleles appear. They are useful to distinguish these cultivar from the Sorrento types.

For a best characterization it’s under studies the SSR genetic variability by visualization of polymorphic fragment on polyacrylamide gel elettrophoresis.