engleski

Molecular characterization of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) accessions

The aim of the research was to assess genetic diversity among basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) accessions held at the Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Seed Science and Technology) as a part of the National Bank of Plant Genes. Seventy-eight basil accessions belonging to five basil morphotypes (True basil, Small-leaf, Lettuce-leaf, Purple basil A and Purple basil B) were analysed using AFLP markers. Sixteen AFLP primer combinations yielded a total of 2, 449 polymorphic markers. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that most of the genetic diversity was attributable to differences among accessions within morphotypes, while the remaining variability was almost equally distributed among morphotypes within groups of morphotypes classified according to anthocyanin coloration on stems (‘green’ vs. ‘purple’ morphotypes) and among the groups. Bayesian analysis of genetic structure resulted in assignment of the investigated accessions to two clusters. Most of the accessions belonging to ‘green’ morphotypes were assigned to Cluster A, while the Cluster B included most of the accessions belonging to ‘purple’ morphotypes. The separation of ‘green’ vs. ‘purple’ morphotypes was confirmed further by principal co-ordinate analysis (PCoA) and the neighbour-joining cluster analysis, both based on pairwise Dice’s distance matrix between accessions. The assessment of the genetic diversity of the basil accessions is the first step for the future association mapping studies aimed at identifying markers associated with main essential oil compounds.

Ocimum basilicum L.; accession; morphotype; genetic diversity; AFLP markers

nije evidentirano