Castanea sativa Mill., commonly known as the European chestnut, is renowned for its exceptional organoleptic quality and high nutritional value. Currently, there is a growing interest in this species in Italy; however, the presence of Euro-Japanese hybrids (C. sativa × C. crenata) and Chinese chestnuts (C. mollissima) with lower-quality nuts requires the implementation of a genetic traceability system to protect local production along the production chain. Traceability (tracing and tracking) is crucial to ensure the connection with the territory and the protection of Italian chestnut-based products. Identifying molecular markers useful for varietal characterization and species identification could be strategic for controls at the nursery level and on the market, thus helping to preserve the uniqueness of the chestnut products made in Italy. For these reasons, we report: i) the DNA extraction from different chestnut food matrices; ii) the evaluation of Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) molecular markers to identify chestnut cultivars along the supply chain, from field to processed foods; and iii) the identification, by next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach, of chloroplast single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) molecular markers to trace different Castanea species. Through bioinformatic approaches, two SNPs were identified that could distinguish C. sativa from C. mollissima and C. crenata based on High Resolution Melting (HRM) curves. These results provide a promising method to protect the origin and uniqueness of chestnut-based Italian products.
Optimization of a genetic traceability protocol for safeguarding chestnut production
Torello Marinoni, D.;Pavese, V.;Ruffa, P.;Marino, L. A.;Acquadro, A.;Barchi, L.;Valentini, N.;Botta, R.
2024-01-01
Abstract
Castanea sativa Mill., commonly known as the European chestnut, is renowned for its exceptional organoleptic quality and high nutritional value. Currently, there is a growing interest in this species in Italy; however, the presence of Euro-Japanese hybrids (C. sativa × C. crenata) and Chinese chestnuts (C. mollissima) with lower-quality nuts requires the implementation of a genetic traceability system to protect local production along the production chain. Traceability (tracing and tracking) is crucial to ensure the connection with the territory and the protection of Italian chestnut-based products. Identifying molecular markers useful for varietal characterization and species identification could be strategic for controls at the nursery level and on the market, thus helping to preserve the uniqueness of the chestnut products made in Italy. For these reasons, we report: i) the DNA extraction from different chestnut food matrices; ii) the evaluation of Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) molecular markers to identify chestnut cultivars along the supply chain, from field to processed foods; and iii) the identification, by next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach, of chloroplast single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) molecular markers to trace different Castanea species. Through bioinformatic approaches, two SNPs were identified that could distinguish C. sativa from C. mollissima and C. crenata based on High Resolution Melting (HRM) curves. These results provide a promising method to protect the origin and uniqueness of chestnut-based Italian products.
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