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Molecular and morphological diversity of on-farm hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) landraces from southern Europe and their role in the origin and diffusion of cultivated germplasm

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Abstract

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is a traditional nut crop in southern Europe. Germplasm exploration conducted on-farm in five countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, and Greece) identified 77 landraces. The present work describes phenotypic variation in nut and husk traits and investigates genetic relationships using ten simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers among these landraces, 57 well-known references cultivars, and 19 wild accessions. Among the 77 landraces, 42 had unique fingerprints while 35 showed a SSR profile identical to a known cultivar. Among the 42 unique landraces, morphological observations revealed high phenotypic diversity, and some had characteristics appreciated by the market such as nut round and caliber. Analysis of genetic relationships and population structure allowed investigation of the origin and spread of the cultivated germplasm in southern Europe. Our results indicate the existence of three primary centers of diversity in the Mediterranean basin: northwestern Spain (Tarragona) and southern Italy (Campania) in the West and Black Sea (Turkey) in the East. Moreover, the data suggest the existence of secondary gene pools in the Iberian (Asturias) and Italian (Liguria and Latium) Peninsulas, where local varieties were recently domesticated from wild forms and/or from introduced ancient domesticated varieties.

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Acknowledgments

Authors thank Prof. Shawn A. Mehlenbacher (Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA) for reviewing the manuscript. The research was funded by the European Union project SAFENUT (AGRI GEN RES 068).

Data Archiving Statement

Following the standard Tree Genetics and Genomes policy, we declare that the list of accessions surveyed (Table 1), phenotype data (Table 3), and SSR data (Supplementary Table 1) were deposited in the Dryad Repository (http://datadryad.org/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Virology Institute—National Research Counsil (IVV-CNR), UOS of Grugliasco, Via Leonardo Da Vinci, 44-10095, Grugliasco, Turin, Italy

    P. Boccacci

  2. Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Science, University of Torino, Via Leonardo Da Vinci, 44-10095, Grugliasco, Turin, Italy

    P. Boccacci, N. Valentini, F. Calizzano, C. Contessa & R. Botta

  3. Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l’energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile (ENEA), Via Anguillarese, 301-00123, Santa Maria di Galeria, Rome, Italy

    M. Aramini & L. Bacchetta

  4. Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Centre Mas de Bover, Ctra. Reus-El Morell, km 3.8, 43120, Constantí, Tarragona, Spain

    M. Rovira

  5. Pomology Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organisation ‘Demeter’, DG of Agricultural Research, NAGREF, 38 R.R. Station, 59 035, Naoussa, Greece

    P. Drogoudi

  6. Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences (CITAB), Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Apartado 1013, 5001-801, Vila Real, Portugal

    A. P. Silva

  7. Biotehniska Fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    A. Solar

  8. Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Dışkapı, 06110, Ankara, Turkey

    V. Erdoğan

  9. Department of Agriculture, Forests, Nature and Energy, University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de’ Lellis snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy

    V. Cristofori

  10. Consiglio per la Ricerca e Sperimentazione in Agricoltura (CRA)—Istituto Sperimentale per la Frutticoltura, via Torrino, 3-81100, Caserta, Italy

    L. F. Ciarmiello

  11. Area de Cultivos Hortofrutícolas y Forestales, Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario (SERIDA), 33300, Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain

    J. J. Ferreira

  12. DEMETRA, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128, Palermo, Italy

    F. P. Marra

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  1. P. Boccacci
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  2. M. Aramini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Boccacci.

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Communicated by E. Dirlewanger

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Boccacci, P., Aramini, M., Valentini, N. et al. Molecular and morphological diversity of on-farm hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) landraces from southern Europe and their role in the origin and diffusion of cultivated germplasm. Tree Genetics & Genomes 9, 1465–1480 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-013-0651-7

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