Origins of Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus subgenus Cerasus) cultivars revealed using nuclear SSR markers

• Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus subgenus Cerasus) cultivars, which are characterized by beautiful flowers, have been developed through hybridization among wild Prunus taxa. The long history of cultivation has caused significant confusion over the origins of these cultivars. We conducted molecular analysis using nuclear simple sequence repeat (SSR) polymorphisms to trace cultivar origins. Bayesian clustering based on the STRUCTURE analysis using SSR genotypes revealed that many cultivars originated from hybridization between two or more wild species. This suggests that morphological variations among flowering cherry cultivars probably arose through a complex sequence of hybridizations. Our findings generally supported estimates of the origins of cultivars based on morphological study, although there were some exceptions.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Genetik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Genetics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Prunus

Cerasus

Ornamental tree

Cultivars

SSR

Taxonomy

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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