Cayetana Blanca is a grapevine variety widely distributed in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Its numerous synonyms and its presence in northern Africa point to a long history of cultivation. The goal here was to identify the genetic relationships of Cayetana Blanca with other Iberian and Mediterranean cultivars using a panel of SNP markers. A total of 243 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and four chloroplast microsatellite loci allowed for identifying synonyms and trio (parents and offspring) and duo (parent-offspring) relationships. Six trios including Cayetana Blanca as a parent were found and supported by very high LODs. Five of the trios had the variety Alfrocheiro Preto as the other parent and gave rise to cultivars used in Portugal: Cornifesto, Camarate, Mouratón, Malvasia Preta, and Periquita. The Spanish cultivar Jaén Tinto is confirmed to be an offspring of Cayetana Blanca and Listán Prieto. Additionally, synonyms and duos were detected that, in some cases, were not anticipated. The parents of Cayetana Blanca remain unknown, while the geographical origin of Cayetana Blanca could be a border region between Portugal and Spain. Results show that this cultivar has had a relevant impact in the viticulture of that area. As in other European regions, viticulture in the Iberian Peninsula is also marked by the impact of certain varieties that have worked as progenitors of many present cultivars. The results also show the interconnection between Portuguese and Spanish viticulture. Finally, the study demonstrates that SNP is a powerful tool for parentage inference in grapevine. © 2012 by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. All rights reserved.

Lalla Hasna Zinelabidine was supported by a fellowship from Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI).This work was partially funded by an international research agreement between Genoma España and Genome Canada and by the EUI2008-03752 grant from the MICINN (Spain).

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