Detecting misidentifications of strawberry cultivars in the Philippines using single nucleotide polymorphism markers

ABSTRACT In the Philippines, misidentification of strawberry cultivars is highly likely because of inadequate methods of identification by farmers. An attempt was made to develop single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and use them to detect possible misidentification among commercially grown strawberry cultivars. Leaf samples from several cultivars were obtained from strawberry farmers in La Trinidad, Benguet, the Philippines. Expressed sequence tags from the anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) gene were screened for putative SNPs. Eleven SNP markers were developed and used to discriminate among the collected samples. The SNP markers grouped the cultivars into five genotypic clusters with seven distinct genotypic identities. Clustering analysis revealed inconsistencies between the farmers’ identification and the molecular classification. ‘Sweet Charlie’ samples were assigned to four genotypic clusters and ‘Strawberry Festival’ samples were grouped into three separate clusters. There is a high probability that cultivar misidentification has indeed occurred. The molecular markers developed in this study could assist in future cultivar verification efforts, germplasm management, and breeding programmes.