Assessment of Genetic Relationships among Philodendron Cultivars Using AFLP Markers

Abstract

Philodendrons (Philodendron Schott) are among the most popular tropical ornamental foliage plants used for interior decoration. However, limited information is available on the genetic relationships among popular Philodendron species and cultivars. This study analyzed genetic similarity of 43 cultivars across 15 species using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers with near infrared fluorescence labeled primers. Forty-eight EcoR I + 2/Mse I + 3 primer set combinations were screened, from which six primer sets were selected and used in this investigation. Each selected primer set generated 96 to 130 scorable fragments. A total of 664 AFLP fragments were detected, of which 424 (64%) were polymorphic. All cultivars were clearly differentiated by their AFLP fingerprints, and the relationships were analyzed using the unweighted pair-group method of arithmetic average cluster analysis (UPGMA) and principal coordinated analysis (PCA). The 43 cultivars were divided into five clusters. Cluster I comprises eight cultivars with arborescent growth style. Cluster II has only one cultivar, `Goeldii'. There are 16 cultivars in cluster III, and most of them are self-heading interspecific hybrids originated from R.H. McColley's breeding program in Apopka, Fla. Cluster IV contains 13 cultivars that exhibit semi-vining growth style. Cluster V has five cultivars that are true vining in morphology, and they have lowest genetic similarity with philodendrons in other clusters. Cultivated philodendrons are generally genetically diverse except the self-heading hybrids in cluster III that were mainly developed using self-heading and semi-vining species as parents. Seven hybrid cultivars have Jaccard's similarity coefficients of 0.88 or higher, suggesting that future hybrid development needs to select parents with diverse genetic backgrounds.