Strategy to minimize phenotyping in the selection of new table grape varieties

Instituto Madrileño de Investigación y Desarrollo Rural, Agrario y Alimentario (IMIDRA), Finca El Encín, Alcalá de Henares, Spain

Abstract

Morphological evaluation of large progenies is a problem in plant breeding programs, because of the need for skilled labor capable of characterizing various descriptors in a large number of individuals ripening simultaneously. In addition, the maintenance of progenies in the field for evaluation involves an unsustainable consumption of resources that could be reduced. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) offers the possibility of accelerating the process with the consequent saving of resources. The aim of this work is to propose a methodology that minimizes the phenotyping work for thousands of individuals of these breeding programs. The methodology consists of analyzing the complete progeny with a limited number of markers (27 SSR (Simple Sequence Repeat)) and a reduced description of morphological characters on a so-called training collection (27 individuals) obtained with Mstrat software. With this strategy, it was possible to estimate traits such as berry skin color or seedlessness in a progeny of more than 2000 individuals with a probability of 90%, and to discard 50% of individuals without muscat linked alleles.