A chemotaxonomic investigation on <i>Vitis vinifera</i> L. <p>II. Comparison among ssp. <i>sativa</i> traditional cultivars and wild biotypes of ssp. <i>silvestris</i> from various Italian regions

Abstract

An extensive screening on regional representatives of Vitis vinifera ssp. sativa and silvestris was carried out to look for relationships and differences between different taxa. Total proteins in the pH range 4.0-5.5, and the enzymes AcP, ADH, EST, G-6-PDH, MDH, PGM and POD were recorded. Only patterns of storage protein subunits, AcP, EST and G-6-PDH were taxonomically informative. Dendrograms were computerized on the basis of presence/absence of individual bands; these always distinguish at different levels in homogeneous groups between ssp. sativa and ssp. silvestris. The acidic subunits showed a dichotomy from the first branching of the cladogram. These observations are a demonstration that neither hypotheses of direct or indirect origin of the Italian ssp. sativa from Italian ssp. silvestris via domestication is tenanble. The authors suggest that, the morphological, the ecological and the biochemical differences between the two taxa support the hypothesis that V. sativa and V. silvestris should be regarded as two separate taxa that have had reciprocal interactions such a long period of time that a precise location of origin is no longer possible.