GENETIC VARIATION IN WILD AND CULTIVATED MATERIAL OF BLACK CHOKEBERRY

Black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, is a self-compatible, diploid species, which grows naturally in North America.
It has been cultivated as a berry crop in Russia for several decades.
The berries can be used for the production of natural food colourants.
Recently, a plant breeding project based on seedlings derived from domesticated Russian plant material was initiated at Balsgård, Sweden.
Several studies have, however, shown that the Russian-derived gene pool is highly homogeneous.
It is therefore necessary to broaden the genetic basis and this may be achieved by introduction of wild-growing plant material.
Using morphological, biochemical and molecular traits, the genetic variation in some native populations was evaluated and compared to domesticated plant material.
As expected, the native populations contained considerably higher levels of genetic variation than the Russian material.
In addition, the results indicated a restricted gene flow within the species, most probably due to repeated selfing and/or apomixis.

International Symposium on Molecular Markers for Characterizing Genotypes and Identifying Cultivars in Horticulture

H.A. Persson, N. Jeppsson, H. Nybom

anthocyanin, Aronia melanocarpa, black chokeberry, breeding system, genetic variability, population genetics, RAPD

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2001.546.30