Genetic Diversity of Old and Local Apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) Cultivars of Volga Region from VIR Collection Inferred from NBS-Profiling

Intraspecific polymorphism of the NBS-LRR resistance genes sequences of 112 old and local apple cultivars of Volga region from the collection of the Volgograd Experiment Station of VIR and 16 commercial Russian and foreign apple cultivars using the NBS-profiling method was analyzed. The high NBS-LRR resistance genes variability of old and local apple cultivars from Volga region was shown (75.2%, H-e = 0.25 +/- 0.009) and their differentiation from commercial cultivars was revealed. Groups of accessions of old and local cultivars of Volga region Yandykovskoe, Mamutovskoe, Borovinka, Bel' and Skrut were identified. It was shown that not all accessions from the same group of cultivars cluster together. Yandykovskoe and Mamutovskoe accessions were found to have NBS patterns that were different from the rest of the studied accessions, which may indicate that they have a specific set of resistance genes.