Genetic diversity assessment in European cynara collections

Abstract

Cynara cardunculus, particularly artichoke, is an important horticultural crop in Italy as well as in France and Spain. Agronomic management of this crop is challenging as traditional varieties typically consist of heterogeneous populations. In this context, the EU-funded CYNARES was developed and implemented, with the aim of conserving, characterizing, collecting and utilizing the potential C. cardunculus diversity. The project promoted, among other activities, the development of in vitro culture techniques to obtain healthy, genetically uniform and rapidly propagated. Overall C. cardunculus genetic variability was evaluated using morphological, molecular and biochemical analyses. Agromorphological descriptors, based on those developed by IPGRI and UPOV, were used to characterize accessions. Molecular markers were used mainly for varietal identification, assessment of population diversity and relatedness investigations. Biochemical evaluation has been undertaken evaluating the nutraceutical of artichoke utilization. The EU project also established a C. cardunculus DNA bank focusing on advances in genomics and gene discovery.