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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » National Clonal Germplasm Repository » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355877
Research Project: Management of Temperate-Adapted Fruit, Nut, and Specialty Crop Genetic Resources and Associated Information

Location: National Clonal Germplasm Repository

Title: Genetic diversity survey of Mentha aquatica L. and Mentha suaveolens Ehrh., mint crop ancestors

Author
item VINING, KELLY - Oregon State University
item PANDELOVA, IOVANNA - Oregon State University
item Hummer, Kim
item Bassil, Nahla
item CONTRERAS, RYAN - Oregon State University
item NEILL, KRISTIN - Oregon State University
item CHEN, HSUAN - Oregon State University
item PARRISH, AMBER - Washington State University
item LANGE, BERND - Washington State University

Submitted to: Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/12/2019
Publication Date: 2/28/2019
Citation: Vining, K., Pandelova, I., Hummer, K.E., Bassil, N.V., Contreras, R., Neill, K., Chen, H., Parrish, A., Lange, B.M. 2019. Genetic diversity survey of Mentha aquatica L. and Mentha suaveolens Ehrh., mint crop ancestors. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 66:825-845. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-019-00750-4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-019-00750-4

Interpretive Summary: The USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository preserves the national collection of mint for use by breeders and scientists worldwide. In this study we evaluated accessions from two progenitor species to the cultivated mint. They were characterized for morphological traits, number of chromosomes, essential oil composition and resistance to the devastating Verticillium wilt pathogen. They were also fingerprinted and uniquely identified using nine newly developed DNA markers. This study enables updates of accession descriptions in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) database, and increases the utility of the mint collection to the research community.

Technical Abstract: The Mentha germplasm collection housed at the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository is a valuable source of diversity for genetic studies and mint breeding. We surveyed phenotypes and genotypes of accessions belonging to two species ancestral to commercial peppermint: M. aquatica and M. suaveolens. Morphology, ploidy, essential oil composition, and relative Verticillium wilt resistance were assessed. Genotyping with Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers was performed in order to establish a set of informative markers for distinguishing accessions from each other. M. suaveolens accessions were triploid or tetraploid, while M. aquatica accessions were octoploid or nonaploid. Holoploid genome sizes differed significantly among accessions within both species. Half of the M. aquatica accessions had (+)-menthofuran as the primary oil constituent, while other accessions showed atypical oil profiles. Most M. suaveolens accessions had high levels of either piperitenone oxide, (-)-carvone, or trans-piperitenone oxide. M. aquatica accessions showed a range of Verticillium wilt resistance to susceptibility, while most M. suaveolens accessions were highly wilt-resistant. Results from genotyping the accessions with nine SSR markers distinguished three groups: one mainly M. suaveolens, one mostly M. aquatica, and one with a mixture of the species. This study enables updates of accession descriptions in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) database, and increases the utility of the Mentha collection to the research community.