Genotypic and phenotypic verification of plant collections for genetic bank and gene pool of introduced Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) varieties creation by microсlonal propagation

Abstract

The article presents the results of studies on genotypic and phenotypic verification of in vivo and in vitro highbush blueberry collections of Central Botanical Garden of the NAS of Belarus. Seven-years of phenorhythm monitoring and morphometric analysis of highbush blueberry varieties Bluecrop, Patriot, Duke, Earliblue, Bluetta, Northland, Spartan, Nui that had been introduced in Belarus has revealed significant interseasonal differences. Morphological feature identification of blueberry varieties was complemented with DNA profiling by SSR fingerprinting. A set of five pairs of primers capable of identifying the set of alleles that can identify the varieties was selected based on a minimal microsatellite panel. Allele sets of SSR loci from both in vivo and in vitro collections matched the allele spectra from Corvallis Vaccinium Database and Genetic Resources Information Network (US Department of Agriculture), which allowed to determine the cultivar identity of the plants.