Development of user-friendly functional molecular markers for VvDXS gene conferring muscat flavor in grapevine

• Published in: Molecular breeding Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 235 - 241
• Main Authors: Emanuelli, F, Sordo, M, Lorenzi, S, Battilana, J, Grando, M. S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer-Verlag 01-01-2014; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adaptations; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Breeding; Climate adaptation; Disease resistance; Flavor; Flavors; fruit composition; fruit wines; Fruits; genes; genetic markers; Genotyping; Germplasm; Grapes; Grapevines; Life Sciences; Markers; melting; Missense mutation; Molecular biology; Monoterpenoids; Multiplexing; Mutation; pathogens; Plant biology; Plant breeding; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; screening; Short Communication; table grapes; Vitaceae; Wine; wine grapes; wine quality; Wines; Functional markers; Aroma; Breeding; High-resolution melting; DXS; Grapevine
• ISSN: 1380-3743; 1572-9788
• DOI: 10.1007/s11032-013-9929-6

High fruit and wine quality combined with good climatic adaptation and disease resistance are essential objectives of grape breeding. While several molecular markers are available for pyramiding resistance to fungal pathogens, molecular tools for predicting fruit composition are still scarce. Muscat flavor, caused by the accumulation of monoterpenoids in the berry, is an important target trait for breeding, sought after in both table grapes and wine. Four missense mutations in the VvDXS gene in grape germplasm have been shown to be tightly linked to muscat flavor. Here we present highly reproducible and breeder-friendly functional markers for each of the targeted polymorphisms developed by using either the multiplexed minisequencing SNaPshot™ method, the high-resolution melting (HRM) assay or the cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence system. A total of 242 grapevine accessions were analyzed to optimize these different genotyping methods and to provide allele-specific markers for accurate selection of muscat flavor at early stages of grape breeding programs. The HRM and the minisequencing SNaPshot multiplex assays allow for high-throughput automated screening and are suitable for large-scale breeding programs and germplasm characterization.