Association analysis for morphological traits in grapevine using SSR and AFLP markers

Grapevine (Vitis sp.), belongs to Vitaceae family, is one of the most important food sources in world because of its wide consumptions. In the current investigation, 22 SSR primer pairs and 7 AFLP primer combinations were used to identify molecular makers associated with 14 flower and fruit related traits in Iranian grapevine germplasm. The traits studied, included fruit water content, percentage of pollen germination, percentage of fruit production, bunch and berry weight, fruit lobe and single seed weight, bunch and yielding system length and width, total soluble solids, acid content and fruit pH. Stepwise regression analysis showed significant relationship between some SSR alleles and all 14 traits in grapevine varieties. In general, 49 alleles produced by 18 SSR primers, showed significant association with variation of 14 traits. The highest and lowest number of associated markers achieved for berry weight and fruit lobe weight each with 7 alleles and pH, fruit acid content, fruit water content and percentage of pollen germination each with 1 alleles, respectively. Significant association between polymorphism of AFLP markers and studied traits was also detected. Forty-nine AFLP fragments showed significant association with the variations of 14 traits. Some of the associated AFLP segments were common among different traits. The fruit lobe weight, with 11 associated markers and total soluble solids, percentage of fruit production, pollen germination and bunch width each with 1 associated marker, were the traits with the highest and lowest number of associated AFLP markers, respectively.