The diploid Celina/QTee® (‘Colorée de Juillet’ × ‘Williams’), one of the most promising pear cultivars developed by the Norwegian breeding program Graminor, was launched in 2010. In Norway, the flowering is medium to late, while the fruits ripen in the beginning of September. The fruits are attractive with an intense red blush (50%) on a green background. Although, ‘Celina’ is cultivated in the most climatically suitable regions for fruit cultivation, present in Norway, unfavorable environmental conditions for pear pollination can have a very negative effect on fruit set and consequent yield. The aim of this study was to determine the S-alleles of ‘Celina’, as well as its frequently used pollinizers, and, through paternity testing of ‘Celina’ seeds, give a recommendation regarding the most important pollinizers of this pear cultivar. In order to accomplish this, ‘Celina’ and its potential pollinizers were all S-genotyped. After harvest, seeds collected from ‘Celina’ fruit in 2017 and 2018 were genotyped using eleven microsatellite markers. Genomic DNA was also extracted from leaf material collected from ‘Celina’, as well as from five pear cultivars used as pollinizers in the three examined orchards, and analyzed using the same marker set. Subsequently a simple sequence repeat (SSR) database was constructed and used for gene assignment analyses with the aim of quantifying pollen donor contribution from individual pollinizers. The obtained results indicate that ‘Anna’, the only examined pollinizer that was fully cross-compatible with ‘Celina’, together with ‘Fritjof’, the genotype which had the highest flowering overlap with ‘Celina’, proved to be the most successful pollinizers across all seasons and orchards. Although both cultivars were ubiquitous in the examined orchards, either as planted trees or as branches introduced during the flowering period, they were the most abundant pollinizers in only one orchard each. It is therefore possible to conclude that pollinizer abundance has a secondary significance in pollinizer success within investigated ‘Celina’ orchards.

A set of nine Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) loci, approved by the ECPGR Prunus working group, are proposed as a standard set for genotyping European plum accessions. These loci show sufficient reliability in spite of problems caused by hexaploidy. Polymorphism in the loci is high and enables differentiation between unique plum accessions as well as analyses of genetic grouping and overall genetic structure. A set of seven reference accessions are described. A compiled dataset with allelic information for 165 accessions is presented. Genetic structure reveals three different K-values (2, 4 and 9) demonstrating a major dichotomy between Prunus insititia-related accessions and cultivars belonging to Prunus domestica sensu stricto, as well as differentiation among minor subgroups defined by pomological traits and geographical origin.

European plum cultivars (Prunus domestica L.) are hexaploid and partially self-fertile or self-sterile requiring compatible pollinizers with overlapping bloom times. Therefore, inter-planting of different pollinizer cultivars is recommended. In order to identify successful pollinizers of the plum cultivars ‘Edda’, ‘Opal’ (self-fertile), ‘Jubileum’, ‘Reeves’, ‘Mallard’, ‘Avalon’, ‘Cacanska Lepotica’ (self-fertile), and ‘Valor’, 60 fruits per cultivar were collected from nine orchards in 2017 and 2018, all of which were located in Ullensvang, western Norway. DNA extraction was subsequently conducted from the obtained embryos, followed by genetic characterization using seven microsatellite markers. Tissue samples from all possible pollinizers were collected during the summer of 2017 and the same DNA approach was conducted. Results showed that ‘Opal’ was the most successful pollinizer among the investigated plum cultivars. The main exception was ‘Cacanska Lepotica’, which consistently displayed very high level of self-pollination. The most successful foreign pollinizer of ‘Opal’ was ‘Mallard’. However, in more than two thirds of embryos extracted from ‘Opal’ fruits self-fertilization was determined. ‘Reeves’ was identified as the most successful pollinizer among embryos collected from ‘Valor’. Among the five cultivars (‘Edda’, ‘Jubileum’, ‘Reeves’, ‘Mallard’, and ‘Avalon’) that did not display self-pollination, the pollinizer success rate of ‘Opal’, ranged from 36.5% (‘Mallard’) to 93.5% (‘Edda’) in 2017, while in 2018 this rate ranged from 43.5% (‘Jubileum’ and ‘Reeves’) up to 96.5% (‘Edda’). Overall, genotyping embryos using SSRs (simple sequence repeats) proved an effective method in determining the success rate of individual pollinizers among European plum cultivars.

A DNA marker-based study in European plum was performed within the project “Identification of a representative set of Prunus domestica accessions of European origin, well documented and characterized, to be included into the AEGIS system (PRUNDOC)”. A total of 46 local plum accessions from 10 European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia and Sweden) were analysed using SSR loci. In addition, seven reference cultivars (Bistrica, Hanita, Mirabelle de Nancy, Reine Claude Violette, Stanley, Valor and Victoria) were analysed for standardization of allele sizes. The following nine primers were used; PacA33 is an EST-SSR developed in apricot, BPPCT039, BPPCT007, BPPCT014, BPPCT034, BPPCT040, UDP96 and UDP98 were developed from genomic peach DNA while CPSCT026 was developed from genomic DNA of Japanese plum Prunus salicina. None of the 46 investigated local plum accessions were identical, nor were any of them identical to any of the 7 reference cultivars. Genetic similarity among accessions was examined using Jaccard's similarity coefficients. The obtained dendrogram showed that the plum accessions did not group in a pattern corresponding to their country of origin.

Three commercial apple cultivars ('Jonagold', 'Granny Smith' and 'Idared') and the local apple cultivar ('Prijedorska Zelenika') from Bosnia and Herzegovina were analysed by HPLC-MS for the content of phenolic compounds in peel and pulp as well content of individual sugars and organic acids. Catechin, (-)-epicatechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, quercetin 3-O-xyloside, quercetin 3-O-arabinoside, quercetin 3-O-rhamnoside, quercetin 3-O-rutinoside, quercetin 3-O-galactoside and quercetin 3-O-glucoside were identified in apple peel and (-)-epicatechin, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid in apple pulp at all observed cultivars. The total sugars content of analysed apple cultivars ranged between 91.61 and 105.45 g kg-1 FM, while the total organic acids content was from 5.70 to 15.05 g kg-1 FM. The levels of total organic acids and sugars, glucoce/fructose ratio and sugar/acid ratio were affected by cultivars. The mean content of total phenolic compounds was between 427.92 and 1457.95 mg kg-1 FM in peel and from 113.58 to 439.83 mg kg-1 FM in pulp and depending upon the cultivars. The presented data clearly demonstrated that traditional apple cultivar ('Prijedorska Zelenika') had significantly higher individual phenolic compounds in pulp in comparison to the commercial cultivars, i.e., 'Idared', 'Jonagold' and 'Granny Smith' and with respect of that 'Prijedorska Zelenika' is recommended as raw material for cloudy juice processing.

Dog rose (Rosa canina L.) is a cosmopolitan plant species that due to its nutritional, medical and cosmetic values deserves more attention. Dog roses are cultivated in Croatia on very small scale and most of the rose hip used in the domestic processing industry is imported. In this study, three dog rose F1 progeny populations developed from selected plants collected in Korcula, Malesnica and Prigorje Brdovecko, originating from two climatic regions (P1 - Mediterranean and P2 and P3 - continental) have been studied as a part of a field experiment for two growing seasons, in order to assess the level of genetic variability for pomological and agronomic traits. In addition, genetic variation within and among examined three dog rose populations has been assessed using 6 polymorphic SSR markers. The highest variability, as well as the most desirable agronomic traits were found within the P3 population, while the lowest ones were present in the P1 population. Most desirable properties and highest values for commercially important traits were detected in the genotype RC29 (P3). Molecular data was sufficient to separate three studied populations but not all individuals within the populations. Through selection and hybridization of perspective genotypes of dog roses from Croatia, it would be possible to create clonally propagated varieties suitable for commercial cultivation.

The main goal of any DNA extraction procedure is to ensure reliable and reproducible results in a simple, fast and inexpensive manner. When it comes to plant tissues, this goal is challenging to achieve due to the presence of a variety of metabolites that interfere with DNA during isolation and downstream analysis. In this study, we compared the efficiency of three methods for DNA extraction from plum kernels: 1) the standard CTAB Soltis method which is the most common protocol for DNA extraction from various plant tissues (seeds, young leafs, mature leafs, root); 2) CTAB-based method originally described for DNA isolation from medicinal plants with high levels of secondary metabolites; 3) and one of various commercially available kits. The usefulness of the obtained DNA was evaluated by SSR analysis with seven microsatellite markers. Although the latter two extraction protocols retrieved genomic DNA that gave positive PCR results, only DNA isolated by kit produced full SSR profile

In order to assess the genetic purity of common buckwheat variety ‘Darja’ which is the most commonly produced variety of this crop in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10 SSR markers have been used. Five samples have been collected from different production regions in B&H (Breza, Nisici Plateau, Ustikolina, Bihac and Bosanska Krupa) and compared to the reference ‘Darja’ sample obtained from an ex situ seed collection from Slovenia. Seven out of ten primer pairs used managed to amplify SSR alleles. Analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed a significant differentiation between the reference and all analyzed ‘Darja’ samples. Furthermore, the factorial correspondence analysis revealed a clear differentiation between the reference and ‘Darja’ samples from the most known production regions of common buckwheat in B&H clustering four out of five analyzed samples very close together. The most divergent one among the analyzed samples was the one from Ustikolina. Genetic purity of varieties of all of cross pollinated species produced in Bosnia and Herzegovina is questionable due to the general use of farm-saved seeds.