Kunming Institute of Botany makes progress in natural hybridization and breeding of new varieties of primrose plants
The southwestern region of China is rich in primrose resources, and the area is also considered to be the origin and distribution center of the world primrose plant. Although natural hybridization has long been recognized as an important means of species diversity in the region, there are few examples of true natural hybridization studies in this genus. At the same time, as a world-famous ornamental plant and “the eight famous flowers in Yunnan”, the research on the innovation and utilization of germplasm resources and the development of new varieties is relatively lagging behind.
The Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has recently focused on the natural hybridization of hybrids and the horticultural use of hybrid offspring. In the early stage, the hybrid progeny formed by the orange red sylvestre primula, the radiance red radiance and the two of them were used as research objects. The hybridization process and its possible maintenance reasons were revealed by fragment sequencing, molecular markers and a large number of field experiments (Ma Et al., 2014, Annals of Botany; Ma et al., 2015, Journal of Systematics and Evolution).
In addition, the team explored the relationship between natural hybridization and the formation and maintenance of “very small populations” with the natural hybridization area of the very small population of wild plant fennel lamp and the widely distributed seaweed flower. The study found that only one population in the spring of Fennel was kept in a pure genetic background, and the other two populations detected the presence of hybrid infiltration; especially in the Baishuitai population, most of the shapes were identified as fennel Individuals in Primula detected backcross infiltration, and the proportion was much larger than that of the genus Hydrangea, suggesting that genetic swamping would accelerate the endangerment of the fennel lamp. In addition, this asymmetric hybrid introgression is related to the difference in cross-species hybrid affinity after zygote. Related research results were recently published in the Botanical Journal BMC Plant Biology.
Finally, the team established an evaluation system for ornamental traits for these hybrid offspring with clear genetic background and successful introduction; screened out natural hybrid progeny plants with outstanding ornamental traits and broad horticultural utilization prospects; breakthrough of efficient vegetative propagation of these excellent individual plants Technology; mastered its highly efficient integrated cultivation techniques. Recently, the new primrose variety was reviewed and three Yunnan horticultural plant new varieties authorization certificates were obtained. They are the natural hybrid descendants of the red-hot lamp sylvestus and the red-lighting syllabus, "red powder beauty" and "golden powder beauty", as well as the natural hybrid progeny "white water purple xia" of fennel lamp primula and sea urchin.
This series of research results are supported by the Yunnan Provincial Foreign Science and Technology Cooperation Key Project, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Youth Innovation Promotion Association and the Ministry of Environmental Protection Biodiversity Survey and Evaluation Project.
