Molecular characterization of chestnut plants selected for putative resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi using SSR markers

A set of nine short sequence repeat (SSR) loci was used for the molecular characterization of 32 accessions of 15 chestnut trees selected in the field because of their putative resistance to the ink disease caused by Phytophthora spp. The goal of the present study was to determine the genetic identity of those selected European chestnut trees (Castanea sativa) or interspecific hybrids, considering that hybridization programs between European chestnut and Asiatic species (mainly Japanese chestnut, Castanea crenata) have been carried out in Galicia (Spain) since the early 20th century. The results showed that the analyzed SSR loci were useful to discriminate three Asiatic and the European species of Castanea. The joint information provided by a factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) and the presence of privative alleles allowed the putative molecular assignment of the selected plants to a certain identity. Most of them were determined as hybrids between C. crenata and C. sativa. The individuals coded C036 and C048 were assigned, with a high probability, to C. sativa due to their clustering with accessions of this species and because they had a number of privative alleles of this species. Only a few individuals could not be assigned to any particular genotype.

► A set of nine SSR markers distinguished Asiatic Castanea species from C. sativa.
► These markers allowed characterize 15 trees putatively resistant to the ink disease.
► Most plants were hybrids of C. crenata and C. sativa, being useful as rootstocks.
► Two selected plants have been most probably assigned to C. sativa.