Phenotypic Variation in Flower Color and Morphology in the Gerbera ( Gerbera hybrida ) F 1 Hybrid Population and Their Association with EST-SSR Markers

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 25; no. 1
• Main Authors: Zhou, Yiwei, Zou, Xinru, Yan, Fulong, He, Jingjuan, Zeng, Sixian, Yu, Yunyi, Tang, Xiaoshuang, Liang, Xuanguo, Cai, Xiuping, Yu, Rangcai, Fan, Yanping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 22.12.2023
• Subjects: genetic analysis; flower color; association analysis; gerbera
• ISSN: 1422-0067

Gerbera ( ) is a widely cultivated ornamental plant. However, its genetic improvement is limited by the lack of genetic analysis and molecular markers for traits. In this study, we analyzed the phenotypic and genotypic variation of 140 F progeny from two gerbera varieties with different flower types and colors. We evaluated the flower's morphology, color, and pigment content of the F population and performed cluster principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation analysis. The results showed that the main ornamental traits of the hybrid progeny varied greatly. The segregation ratios of single and double flowers and ligulate and split ray florets were both 1:1. The flower colors of the F progeny were mainly red and purple-red, similar to the male parent's color. Furthermore, we conducted a genetic analysis of the hybrid progeny using EST-SSR markers and performed association analysis with phenotypic traits. We identified 2, 2, 3, 1, and 2 loci to be associated with peduncle length (PL), ray floret length (RFL), and outer ray floret; the level of apex relative to the top of involucre (LAI); outer corolla lips (OCL); and the of ray floret color, respectively. Our results reveal the genetic patterns of important ornamental traits and provide a theoretical basis and practical tools for gerbera genetic breeding.