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Background/Objectives: Lebanon, one of the oldest centers of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivation, is home to a rich diversity of local grape varieties. This biodiversity is linked to the country's unique topography and millennia of cultural history. However, the wine industry primarily utilizes international varieties, putting many local varieties at risk of extinction. Methods: In this study, we analyzed 202 samples from old vineyards, home gardens, and private collections using 21 microsatellite markers to assess their identity and genetic diversity. Results: A total of 67 different genotypes were identified, with 34 not matching any existing profiles in the consulted databases, based on comparisons with the European Vitis Database, the Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC), and the databases established in two previous studies conducted in Armenia and Lebanon. Cluster analyses revealed Lebanon's rich diversity of local grape varieties, highlighting cases of synonymy, homonymy, and misnaming. All loci were polymorphic, with 228 alleles and an average of 11.4 alleles being detected. The highest number of alleles was observed at the VVIV67 locus (19 alleles), while the lowest was found at the VVIQ52 and VVIN73 loci (5 alleles). The observed heterozygosity was 0.732, slightly below the expected value of 0.757, with gene diversity varying among the markers. Conclusions: Of the 67 genetic profiles identified, 34 are absent from national and international databases, underscoring Lebanon as a hotspot for grapevine genetic diversity. This unique genetic variation, which includes several synonyms due to geographic isolation, could provide valuable opportunities for producing distinctive wines and emphasizes the need for further research and documentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of consensus chloroplast microsatellites primers for dicotyledonous chloroplast genomes revealed the existence of intra and interspecific length variation within the genus Vitis. Three chloroplast microsatellite loci were found to be polymorphic in samples of Vitis vinifera, Vitis berlandieri, Vitis riparia, and Vitis rupestris out of a total of 10 consensus primer pairs tested. These polymorphisms were always due to a variable number of mononucleotide residues within A and (or) T stretches in the amplified regions. Chloroplast microsatellite polymorphisms were used to demonstrate the maternal inheritance of chloroplast in V. vinifera and to characterise the chloroplast haplotypes present in wine grape cultivars of this species grown in Spain and Greece. The different distribution of haplotype frequencies in the two ends of the Mediterranean growth area suggests the existence of independent domestication events for grapevine.Key words: Vitis, grapevine, chloroplast microsatellites, chloroplast haplotypes, chloroplast inheritance, grapevine domestication.L'emploi d'amorces consensus pour l'ADN chloroplastique chez les dicotylédones révèle la présence de variabilité intra- et interspécifique au sein du genre Vitis. Trois locus microsatellites chloroplastiques se sont avérés polymorphes chez le Vitis vinifera, le Vitis barlandieri, le Vitis riparia et le Vitis rupestris parmi un ensemble de dix amorces consensus employées. Ces polymorphismes étaient presque toujours dus à un nombre variable de nucléotides A ou T au sein d'une suite mononucléotidique dans la région amplifiée. Les polymorphismes de l'ADN chloroplastique ont été employés pour démontrer l'hérédité maternelle du chloroplaste chez le V.vinifera et pour caractériser les haplotypes chloroplastiques présents chez les cépages à vin cultivés en Espagne et en Grèce. La distribution différente quant à la fréquence des haplotypes aux deux extrémités de la zone méditerranéenne de culture suggère des événements indépendants de domestication de la vigne.Mots clés : Vitis, vigne, microsatellites chloroplastiques, haplotypes chloroplastiques, hérédité des chloroplastes, domestication de la vigne.[Traduit par la Rédaction] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]