PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Dániel Pap AU - Allison J. Miller AU - Jason P. Londo AU - László G. Kovács TI - Population Structure of <em>Vitis rupestris</em>, an Important Resource for Viticulture AID - 10.5344/ajev.2015.15012 DP - 2015 Jun 19 TA - American Journal of Enology and Viticulture PG - ajev.2015.15012 4099 - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2015/06/12/ajev.2015.15012.short 4100 - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2015/06/12/ajev.2015.15012.full AB - The wild North American grapevine Vitis rupestris Scheele is an important genetic resource for viticulture, but its natural population has been severely depleted. We collected samples from seven V. rupestris populations from the Ozark Plateau in Missouri and the Ouachita Mountains in Oklahoma and genotyped them with 14 microsatellite markers to assess allelic diversity, heterozygosity, and genetic differentiation at various levels of population structure. We found that genetic diversity in V. rupestris was similar to that measured in many Vitis vinifera L. ssp. sylvestris populations and in other outcrossing angiosperms. We detected significant genetic differentiation among populations (ΦPT = 0.105) and no significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in some populations, but moderate inbreeding in others. Pronounced differentiation between Missouri and Oklahoma populations was supported by a Bayesian clustering approach and principle coordinate analyses, and was apparently a function of geographic distance. Genetic differentiation among Missouri populations was modest. We posit that population differentiation and genetic drift may be inherent features of V. rupestris.