Abstract
Accurate identification is an important prerequisite for the inclusion of local apple cultivars into germplasm collections in order to maintain genetic variability for future breeding programs. Traditional methods are based on morphological and agronomic traits, which can be influenced by environmental factors. Molecular markers, such as microsatellites, are independent of such influences and are characterised by high reproducibility and robustness. In the present study 14 microsatellite loci were employed to obtain a database with confirmed genetic profiles of apple cultivars. A set of 55 putative cultivars, each collected from at least two different germplasm collections, was investigated. The analysis of a total of 155 trees resulted in 61 unique multi-locus genotypes. For 44 cultivars a single genotype was found in two or more germplasm collections. Three cultivar pairs of identical genotypes were found which are assumed to be sport mutations or synonyms. At least two cases of misidentification and several homonym cultivars were revealed. Certain misdeterminations would have remained undiscovered, if cultivar accessions were investigated from a single gene bank only. Therefore a comparative approach is recommended, which should involve the analysis of at least three independent accessions of a putative cultivar. In this way a database with confirmed genetic profiles of apple cultivars would be available for the reliable determination of unidentified samples.