An SSR Fingerprinting Set to Characterize Ribes Plant Germplasm

Authors: Bushakra, Jill; Green, Jaimie; Hummer, Kim; Bassil, Nahla

Submitted to: American Society of Horticulture Science Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2021
Publication Date: 8/7/2021
Citation: Bushakra, J., Green, J., Hummer, K.E., Bassil, N.V. 2021. An SSR Fingerprinting Set to Characterize Ribes Plant Germplasm. American Society of Horticulture Science Meeting.

Interpretive Summary: The gooseberry and currant collection includes field-grown plants and seeds stored in freezers at the US Department of Agriculture, National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) in Corvallis, OR. The collection consists of 44 species and 8 subspecies including 371 cultivars and advanced selections. The collection was initiated in 1981 from plants donated from the Oregon State University Lewis-Brown Farm. The collection has been expanded from USDA-sponsored collection trips to Russia, China, and Southeast Asia and cultivated material from the UK. The objective of our study was to develop a DNA-based fingerprinting set that can differentiate species and identify unique individuals. We evaluated these DNA-based markers in a testing panel of 12 accessions representing six species. We identified 7 markers that distinguish these species and optimized the markers into a fingerprinting set. This set was used to characterize 51 accessions from the NCGR collection. The results confirmed two synonyms and the identity of 13 cultivated genotypes with the same name from different sources. We also detected five cultivars with the same name but with different alleles at one or more loci; two genotypes with different names but the same fingerprint; two unknown accessions; and differences among suspected synonyms. This fingerprinting set accurately separated species and will provide another tool to better manage the botanical and horticultural identity of these plant collections.

Technical Abstract: he Ribes (gooseberry and currant) germplasm collection includes field-grown plants and seeds stored in freezers at the US Department of Agriculture, National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) in Corvallis, OR. The collection consists of 44 species, and 8 subspecies including 371 cultivars and advanced selections. The collection was initiated in 1981 from plants donated by Ralph Garren who managed the plants previously at the Oregon State University Lewis-Brown Farm. In the early 1980s, Dr. Mel Westwood was sponsored by the USDA to travel to Russia, China, and Southeast Asia. He returned from his travels with seeds of unusual Ribes species that were donated to the NCGR. This diverse collection was expanded in 1989 by cultivated additions from the Brogdale National Plant Trials in the UK, and multiple additional USDA plant expeditions to Alaska, Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States in subsequent years. The objective of our study was to develop a simple sequence repeat (SSRs)-based fingerprinting set that can differentiate Ribes species and identify unique genotypes. We obtained 13 published high-core repeat SSRs that appeared to be polymorphic in at least two Ribes species. We evaluated these SSRs in a testing panel of 12 accessions representing R. aureum, R. nigrum, R. uva-crispa, R. spicatum, R. petraeum, and R. × nidigrolaria. We identified 7 SSRs that were polymorphic across these species and optimized this 7-SSR Ribes fingerprinting set. This set was used to genotype 51 accessions from the NCGR collection. The results confirmed two synonyms and the identity of 13 cultivated genotypes with the same name from different sources. We also detected five cultivars with the same name but with different alleles at one or more SSR loci; two genotypes with different names but the same fingerprint; two unknown accessions; and differences among suspected synonyms. This fingerprinting set accurately separated species and will provide another tool to better manage the botanical and horticultural identity of Ribes germplasm collections.