Genetic insights into recently discovered indigenous grapes from historical Armenian vineyards: implications for conservation and breeding

Abstract

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most ancient and culturally significant plant species, domesticated over 11,000 years ago. Throughout history, grapevines have played a fundamental role in shaping agricultural traditions, economies, and cultural practices worldwide. Armenia is recognized as one of the earliest centers of grapevine domestication, where viticulture has thrived uninterrupted for millennia. This rich and continuous viticultural legacy has contributed to developing an exceptionally diverse grapevine gene pool, shaped by natural selection, human cultivation, and complex ecological interactions.

Over the past decade, extensive nationwide prospections have been conducted to recover, document, and characterize minor indigenous grapevine germplasm across Armenia’s traditional viticultural regions, including Ararat, Aragatsotn, Vayots Dzor, Tavush and Syunik. Inventoried vineyards were distributed across an exceptionally broad altitudinal gradient, ranging from approximately 420 m above sea level in Tavush Province to elevations exceeding 1,800-2,000 m in Vayots Dzor Province. The surveys were carried out during both the vegetative and harvest periods, with a primary focus on historical vineyards established in the early 20th century or earlier, many of which had remained abandoned or minimally managed for prolonged periods.

These integrated investigations led to the establishment of a rigorously validated, true-to-type inventory of Armenian grapevine germplasm, encompassing more than 3,300 genotyped accessions. Currently, 400 genetically distinct Armenian varieties are officially documented in the Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC), while a further 50 accessions are undergoing final validation prior to registration. Despite significant progress, over 230 accessions forming the core of the present investigation remained unassigned, primarily due to the absence of corresponding SSR profiles in reference databases and the lack of documented historical varietal denominations. To address these gaps, continued bibliographic research and enhanced collaboration with international germplasm collections preserving Armenian grapevine diversity is in progress.

The combined application of molecular fingerprinting by 24 microsatellites and classical ampelographic assessment proved highly effective for the identification and validation of accessions recovered from historical vineyards and home gardens. This integrative approach enabled the resolution of numerous cases involving synonyms, homonyms and misnomers. The establishment of well-documented grapevine genetic resources with confirmed identity and controlled phytosanitary status represents a fundamental prerequisite for their sustainable utilization and long-term conservation within germplasm repositories.

Acknowledgements

The Research was realised within the projects 24FP-4B027 and 24LCG-1E006, Higher Education and Science Committee, RAMoESCS.