Nuclear DNA content and genetic relationships based on AFLP data in Helleborus

authored by

J. Meiners, T. Debener, G. Schweizer, T. Winkelmann

Abstract

The genus Helleborus comprises 22 species which are allocated to six sections. Due to high intraspecific morphological variability, taxonomic and genetic relationships are ambiguous especially within section Helleborastrum. In order to investigate taxonomic and genetic relation-ships in the genus Helleborus, flow cytometry and amplified fragment length polymorphisms were used. Nuclear DNA contents of 21 analyzed species varied between 18.3 pg/2C for H. argutifolius and 32.7 pg/2C for H. thibetanus. Genome sizes between 26.8 and 31.3 pg/2C were determined for the majority of species. The genetic relationships within the genus were analyzed using ten AFLP primer combinations for 19 out of 22 Helleborus species. On the basis of 1109 polymorphic fragments across all species and the outgroup Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Violet', genetic distances were determined to conduct neighbor-joining cluster and bootstrap analysis to calculate a majority rule consensus tree. The six Helleborus sections were clearly definable in the phenogram that thereby supports the present genus division.

Organisation(s)

Section Molecular Plant Breeding
Woody Plant and Propagation Physiology Section

External Organisation(s)

Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture

Type

Conference contribution

Pages

157-162

No. of pages

6

Publication date

31.03.2012

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Horticulture

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.929.22 (Access: Unknown)