The number of remaining fruit varieties or fruit genetic resources in Austria is currently unknown. Some of the fruit diversity is preserved in various public and private gene banks throughout Austria.
However, these collections have not been harmonised with each other and have so far only been partially checked for varietal authenticity.
As part of the project, a genetic fingerprint of each fruit variety in Austria's fruit collections will be created. For this purpose, leaf samples are taken from the trees in the collections and sent to an institute for genetic analysis.
There, the genomic DNA is extracted from the leaves, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is carried out and the length of very specific gene segments is precisely measured. The lengths of these gene sections differ from variety to variety and the overall length profile is characteristic of a particular variety. In this way, the varieties can be clearly identified or the specified variety name can be verified. Duplicates and errors can be found in the collections and unknown varieties can be uncovered. The result is a list of all the varieties that are currently safeguarded in the Austrian collections.
The ‘Fruit Inventory Austria’ project is an important step towards closing an existing gap in biodiversity monitoring.
Project manager at the W&O RTD: Dipl.-(HTL)-Ing. Karin Silhavy-Richter
More information:
Obst-Inventur Österreich (→ Arche Noah)