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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Geneva, New York » Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU) » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #191134
Title: PRUNUS GENETIC RESOURCES AND RESEARCH AT THE DAVIS CALIFORNIA NATIONAL CLONAL GERMPLASM REPOSITORY

Author
item Aradhya, Mallikarjuna
item Stover, Eddie
item Weeks, Clayton
item Forsline, Philip

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/20/2006
Publication Date: 3/16/2006
Citation: Aradhya, M.K., Stover, E.W., Weeks, C.F., Forsline, P.L. 2006. Prunus genetic resources and research at the davis california national clonal germplasm repository. Meeting Abstract. 3rd International Rosaceae Genomics Conference. Pg. 91.

Interpretive Summary: Not Applicable

Technical Abstract: The USDA Germplasm Repository at Davis houses most Mediterranean-adapted fruits and nuts, including Prunus. The NCGR is part of the USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). Our missions are to acquire, preserve, characterize and distribute germplasm of designated crops (http://www.ars.usda.gov/pwa/davis/npgs ). NPGS policy is to distribute plant material, free of charge, to research interests around the world. The NCGR Prunus collection includes >1300 accessions: 327 peaches, 228 cherries (192 sweet and 36 tart), 227 apricots, 117 almonds, and 418 plums. Accessions include: 514 named cultivars, 342 wild-collected relatives, and 190 land-races. An AFLP-based analysis of 113 NCGR accessions revealed genetic variability and differentiation within and among seven cultivated and seven wild Prunus species. The four well-supported clusters corresponded to the described Prunus sections of Amygdalus, Armeniaca, Cerasus and Prunophora. The molecular variation distribution pattern indicated that 32% of total variance was accounted for by the within-species variance component. The remaining 68% of variation found among species was hierarchically structured within and among sections (17 and 51%, respectively) or within and among subgenera (30 and 39%, respectively). Although cluster and principal components analyses indicate that the gene pools corresponding to the four sections were distinct, partitioning of molecular variation suggested considerable differentiation among the taxa within sections. Recently, 27 microsatellite markers were screened for reliability and polymorphism among diverse Prunus species. Of these, 16 markers were chosen to conduct fingerprinting on the entire NCGR Prunus collection. To date, 150 apricot and 350 plum NCGR accessions have been fingerprinted.