Characterization of a Limonium sp Collection by Molecular and Biometrical Markers

The genus Limonium includes over 300 species, about 200 of which originate in the Mediterranean basin. From a botanical point of view, several studies were carried out in order to clarify the phylogenetic relationships between species. Many of these studies, however, were not clear and exhaustive as they were often limited to restricted geographical areas. A collection of Limonium species, native to Europe, Caucasus, Asia and Africa, was set up at the CRA-VIV Pescia as part of the RGV-FAO Project. This collection includes about 70 accessions of 16 species found both in their habitat of origin and from seed companies. Plants were grown in unheated greenhouses. The aim of this work was to list and characterize the collection using both morphometric markers, provided by CPVO, and AFLP molecular markers. The use of morphometric parameters, which is essential for characterization of new cultivars, has been adapted for interspecific evaluation through the identification of species-specific parameters, i.e., type of inflorescence, calyx shape and colour, etc. Among 37 CPVO parameters, 9 have been considered for analysis. Biometric data and visual assessments were statistically elaborated by similarity matrix and cluster analysis. Use of AFLP molecular markers allowed a further discussion of the results obtained with morphometric analysis. Among 64 primer combinations, four have been selected and provided over 400 polymorfic bands. Electrophoretic profiles have been scored trough a suitable software (CrossChecker) and the resulted matrix has been elaborated by cluster analysis. Based on these analyses, dendrograms describing the phylogenetic relationships among 16 species were elaborated. Both morphometric and molecular analyses were effective in clarifying most of the phylogenetic relationships among the species of the Limonium collection.