title: A method for genotyping elite breeding stocks of leaf chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) by assaying mapped microsatellite marker loci.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leaf chicory (Cichorium intybus subsp. intybus var. foliosum L.) is a diploid plant species (2n = 18) of the Asteraceae family. The term "chicory" specifies at least two types of cultivated plants: a leafy vegetable, which is highly differentiated with respect to several cultural types, and a root crop, whose current industrial utilization primarily addresses the extraction of inulin or the production of a coffee substitute. The populations grown are generally represented by local varieties (i.e., landraces) with high variation and adaptation to the natural and anthropological environment where they originated, and have been yearly selected and multiplied by farmers. Currently, molecular genetics and biotechnology are widely utilized in marker-assisted breeding programs in this species. In particular, molecular markers are becoming essential tools for developing parental lines with traits of interest and for assessing the specific combining ability of these lines to breed F1 hybrids.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The present research deals with the implementation of an efficient method for genotyping elite breeding stocks developed from old landraces of leaf chicory, Radicchio of Chioggia, which are locally dominant in the Veneto region, using 27 microsatellite (SSR) marker loci scattered throughout the linkage groups. Information on the genetic diversity across molecular markers and plant accessions was successfully assessed along with descriptive statistics over all marker loci and inbred lines. Our overall data support an efficient method for assessing a multi-locus genotype of plant individuals and lineages that is useful for the selection of new varieties and the certification of local products derived from Radicchio of Chioggia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This method proved to be useful for assessing the observed degree of homozygosity of the inbred lines as a measure of their genetic stability; plus it allowed an estimate of the specific combining ability (SCA) between maternal and paternal inbred lines on the basis of their genetic diversity and the predicted degree of heterozygosity of their F1 hybrids. This information could be exploited for planning crosses and predicting plant vigor traits (i.e., heterosis) of experimental F1 hybrids on the basis of the genetic distance and allelic divergence between parental inbred lines. Knowing the parental genotypes would allow us not only to protect newly registered varieties but also to assess the genetic purity and identity of the seed stocks of commercial F1 hybrids, and to certificate the origin of their food derivatives.
authors.affiliation: DAFNAE, Laboratory of Plant Genetics and Breeding, University of Padua, Campus of Agripolis, 35020, Legnaro, PD, Italy. andrea.ghedina@studenti.unipd.it.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghedina
authors.affiliation: DAFNAE, Laboratory of Plant Genetics and Breeding, University of Padua, Campus of Agripolis, 35020, Legnaro, PD, Italy. giulio.galla@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galla
authors.affiliation: Agro-food and Biotechnology Laboratory, Charles Viollette Research Institute, Université Lille1 Sciences et Technologies, GIS CARTOCHIC, Cité Scientifique, 59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France. thierry.cadalen@univ-lille1.fr.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cadalen
authors.affiliation: Agro-food and Biotechnology Laboratory, Charles Viollette Research Institute, Université Lille1 Sciences et Technologies, GIS CARTOCHIC, Cité Scientifique, 59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France. jean-louis.hilbert@univ-lille1.fr.
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hilbert
authors.affiliation: T&T Produce, S.S. Romea 77/bc, 30015, Sant'Anna Di Chioggia, VE, Italy. silvano@vegetableseeds.it.
authors.forename: Silvano Tiozzo
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Caenazzo
authors.affiliation: DAFNAE, Laboratory of Plant Genetics and Breeding, University of Padua, Campus of Agripolis, 35020, Legnaro, PD, Italy. gianni.barcaccia@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barcaccia
mesh_terms: D018651:Cichorium intybus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D060005:Genotyping Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D007178:Inbreeding; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D000069600:Plant Breeding / Q000379:methods; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant