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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Geneva, New York » Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU) » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #191139
Title: STATUS OF USDA VITIS GERMPLASM COLLECTION IN GENEVA, NEW YORK WITH ACCESSIONS PRIMARILY OF NORTH AMERICAN ORIGIN

Author
item Forsline, Philip
item Cousins, Peter
item Simon, Charles
item Baldo, Angela
item Schwaninger, Heidi
item Stover, Eddie

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2006
Publication Date: 6/30/2006
Citation: Forsline, P.L., Cousins, P.S., Simon, C.J., Baldo, A.M., Schwaninger, H.R., Stover, E.W. 2006. Status of usda vitis germplasm collection in geneva, new york with accessions primarily of north american origin. Meeting Abstract. 9th International Conference on Grape Genetics and Breeding.

Interpretive Summary: Not Applicable

Technical Abstract: The Vitis germplasm collection of the United States Department of Agriculture is one of the largest collections of its kind in the world. Accession information can be found on the Genetic Resources Information Network (GRIN) http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/. The collection consists of 4035 accessions representing 50 species. The collection in Geneva, NY has 1204 accessions representing 27 species. The remainder of the USDA collection is in Davis, CA. The Geneva collection includes 759 hybrids with North American (NA) background. Most of the remainder are selections of 20 NA species. The USDA, Geneva collection was initiated in 1984 with many of the accessions having been collected by grape breeders at Cornell University’s Geneva Station. Recent introductions include 40 extremely cold-hardy hybrids representing the legacy of 'The late Elmer Swenson’ of the upper Midwest. Morphological characterization using 25 descriptors has been completed for 90% of the collection and digital imaging has been initiated. We distributed 700 accessions to approximately 50 requesters annually between 1994 and 2004. In 2005, these numbers doubled. Genetic finger printing has, been initiated using SSR markers following the internationally agreed protocol. A study resequencing fragments of thirty nuclear genes to compare genetic relationships of Asian, European, and NA species is in the data analysis phase. These gene fragments were identified as polymorphic among public vinifera ESTs, and primers in conserved flanking regions were designed using bioinformatics tools developed at PGRU in Geneva. A diverse group of 42 Vitis species representing these three areas was used. DNA for the Asian species was supplied by collaborators in China. This is a pilot study to determine the extent of diversity in the Asian group in comparison to collections maintained in USA, and whether this material warrants substantantial effort to attain.