Biodiversity of grapevines (vitis vinifera L.) Grown in the Aosta valley

The PCR-based DNA microsatellite analysis has been applied to define genetic relationships among 19 most representative grapevine cultivars in the Aosta Valley. Eighteen varieties grown nearby, in the Savoie (France), Valais (Swizterland) and Piedmont (Italy) regions, were also analysed to verify the correlation with the Aosta cultivars inferred by the analysis of synonyms and/or morphology. Results were obtained by analysing 12 DNA microsatellite loci. High biodiversity has been recorded amongst the analysed grapevines. In some cases cultivars known with different names in the Valley and in the nearby regions displayed the same SSR allele size, proving the occurrence of synonymes. In other cases, identical denominations did not correspond with genomic identity.