Poster: Genome evolution

Abs # 850: AFLP marker analysis of Syngonium cultivars selected from somaclonal variants

Presenter:	Chao, Chih-Cheng T., ctchao@citrus.ucr.edu
Authors	Chao, Chih-Cheng T. (A)   Devanand, Pachanoor S. (A)   Chen, Jianjun  (B)   Henny, Richard J. (B)
Affiliations:	(A): Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California-Riverside (B): Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, IFAS, University of Florida

Syngonium is an important ornamental foliage plant genus and widely used as a living specimen for interior decoration. Current cultivars are largely developed from selection of somaclonal variants whose variation at DNA level has not been investigated. In this study, 20 somaclonal variant cultivars with their parent as well as seven other Syngonium and five other aroid genera were analyzed using 12 primer sets. Among the 20 somaclonal cultivars, ‘Pink Allusion’ was derived from ‘White Butterfly’. Tissue culture of ‘Pink Allusion’ through organogenesis resulted in 13 additional cultivars. Selfing of ‘Pink Allusion’ obtained a cultivar, ‘Regina Red’. ‘Regina Red’ tissue culture produced five more cultivars. AFLP analysis generated a total of 1,583 scorable fragments of which 1,284 were polymorphic (81%). All cultivars were distinguished by their AFLP markers. ‘Pink Allusion’ shares 93% genetic similarity with the 13 cultivars, and ‘Regina Red’ has 97% similarity with the five cultivars. However, ‘Pink Allusion’ and ‘Regina Red’ only have 69% genetic similarity. Seven other Syngonium controls share a maximum similarity of 47% with the somaclonal variant cultivars. This study shows that Syngonium cultivars selected from somaclonal variants are genetically different and not due to epigenetic variation, and surprisingly, a selfing of ‘Pink Allusion’ can generate greatly genetic variation with its progeny ‘Regina Red’.