QUINCE (CYDONIA OBLONGA) GENETIC RELATIONSHIPS DETERMINED USING MICROSATELLITE MARKERS

The quince, Cydonia oblonga Mill., belongs to a monotypic genus and is a close relative of apple (Malus) and pear (Pyrus) in the Rosaceae family. It has been cultivated for thousands of years in central Asia and the Middle East for its fruit, and for hundreds of years as a dwarfing rootstock for pear. The USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon has assembled a diverse living collection of Cydonia genotypes originating from more than 15 countries, and maintained as self-rooted orchard trees. We evaluated 24 apple SSR primer pairs that also amplify in pear for cross-transference to 45 diverse quince accessions from the Corvallis collection. Nine apple primer pairs that appeared polymorphic in quince were selected and used to evaluate genetic relationships among 92 quince genotypes and 3 intergeneric pear × quince hybrids (X Pyronia veitchii (Trab.) Guillaumin). The quince accessions proved to be very diverse, with only 6 sets of synonyms in addition to a group of 12 clones that could not be differentiated. ‘Meech’s Prolific’ and ‘Bourgeault’ had identical fingerprints, and similar phenotypes. ‘Portugiesiche Birnquitta’, ‘Gamboa’, ‘Bereczki’, ‘Rich’ and ‘Van Deman’ also had identical fingerprints and similar phenotypes. Several large-fruited clones from Turkey grouped closely with the five ‘Portugal’ clones and also with other large-fruited quince clones from Ukraine and USA suggesting Turkish germplasm as a possible origin for the group. Additional SSR markers may be needed for finer resolution where unique clones could not be differentiated. This study represents the first genetic identity evaluation of quince genotypes spanning much of Cydonia’s natural wild and cultivated geographic distribution.