A Contribution to Characterisation of Elite Cultivars of Winter Camellias as Revealed by Sequence Tagged Microsatellite Site (STMS) and Morphological Markers.

Genetic resources can be described as the total genetic diversity of cultivated species and their wild relatives. Their effective conservation and use depend on the availability of information and on the extent and distribution of genetic diversity in species of interest. In recent years, numerous molecular techniques have been developed to provide markers and now are by far the most powerful and widely used. Among the several classes of DNA-based markers, the Sequence Tagged Microsatellite Sites (STMS) are highly polymorphic, multi-allelic, frequently codominant, highly reproducible, selective neutrality and random widely distributed. in the genome. In order to improve the genetic knowledge in ornamentals and to solve taxonomical issues, STMSs were used to investigate Camellia genus. Overall, 44 cultivars belonging to C. sasanqua L., C. ×hiemalis Nakai, C. ×vernalis Makino and C. hybrida were characterised by means of 4 STMSs and 16 morphological traits referring to flower and leaf morphology, colour, and fragrance. STMS markers successfully amplified all the accessions and 58 alleles were scored. The distribution of the genetic variation, attributed by AMOVA, highlighted genetic overlapping among C. sasanqua cultivars and the hybrids of C. ×vernalis, C. ×hiemalis and C. hybrida. The Principal Coordinate Analyses (PCoA) based on joined molecular and morphological data sets showed a distribution of all accessions in agreement with their taxonomic classification. Taken as a whole, results demonstrated that this set of microsatellite loci are eligible in describing genetic diversity in winter camellias, being therefore an appropriate tool for germplasm characterization and management.