Molecular and morphological characterization of a Vitis gene bank for the establishment of a base collection

A total of 621 accessions of Vitis vinifera L. from the Spanish gene bank at Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) were characterized using morphological descriptors, isoenzymes and microsatellites. Ampelographic evaluations included 27 morphometric plus 50 morphological characters. Of these twelve measurements or ratios were considered the most discriminant and 32 OIV descriptors were the most adequate for characterization because of their stability and objectiveness. Four isoenzyme systems provided 80 different patterns in these accessions. Analysis of six microsatellites in the studied samples resulted in 163 genotypes. The same microsatellite genotype was obtained for closely related varieties as in the case of mutations of the berry color, like Garnacha Blanca, Garnacha Gris and Garnacha Negra. Application of these characterization methods resulted in 177 accessions, which should be kept as a base collection, that represents less than 30% of the initial number.