Abstract

The capacity to morphologically differentiate clones of a particular cultivar is limited to a very few examples. Moreover, as traditional ampelographic approaches could be shadowed by genetic x environment (GxE) interactions, more consistent systems have been searched based on DNA polymorphisms of different types. In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility to use microsatellite (SSR) markers to differentiate and identify 'Cabernet Sauvignon' (CS) clones released by ENTAV-France. The initial analysis of a larger set of 59 clones with 84 microsatellite markers led us to identify 18 polymorphic loci, all of them apparently of chimeric (tri-allelic) nature. When we applied this set of markers to 22 ENTAV CS clones, they showed eight identity groups, differentiating five clones with unique genotypes, two groups of three, and four clones with non-differentiable genotypes, plus one larger group of ten identical clones. Moreover, the obtained profiles were reproducible. The utility of this set of 18 markers has also been tested in other groups of clones, including materials collected from old vineyards in central Chile that presented additional polymorphisms. At this point it is evident that screening a larger number of SSR markers will permit to find more polymorphisms. After that, these markers could be proposed as a simple identification and traceability system for CS clones, useful to nurseries and growers.