Genetic diversity and molecular fingerprinting of <i>Prunus cerasus</i> var. <i>austera</i> from central Italy

In central Italy, <i>Prunus cerasus</i> var. <i>austera</i> is cultivated as small stands or scattered trees in marginal areas for the production of jam and wine. Thanks to the healthy attributes of its products and its ability to grow in different environmental conditions, this variety has gained new interest in the development of marginal areas. We assessed the level of the genetic variability of <i>P. cerasus</i> var. <i>austera</i> germplasm from central Italy and identified a ‘core collection’ representative of the present genetic diversity. A total of 161 trees, morphologically identified as var. <i>austera</i>, and one tree, identified as var. <i>caproniana</i> were collected and genotyped by 14 SSRs. Two individuals provided by a commercial plant nursery, one of <i>P. cerasus</i> var. <i>caproniana</i> and one of <i>P. cerasus</i> var. <i>austera</i>, were used as control. Thirteen SSRs presented private alleles in <i>austera</i>. Seven individuals morphologically identified as <i>austera</i> revealed private alleles specific to <i>caproniana.</i> The PCoA and Bayesian clustering analysis showed a main genetic group including var. <i>austera</i>, while a second group included all the <i>caproniana</i>-like genotypes. A core collection of 31 trees (46% of <i>austera</i> genotypes) was selected. This study can be considered as a starting point for future investigations on this variety.