Heredity of active compounds and selection of elite hybrids in a segregating F1 population of tea chrysanthemum

Abstract

The active compounds in the dry head-like capitulum of tea chrysanthemums are essential contributors to human health. Therefore, increasing the internal quality is a critical aim of tea chrysanthemum breeding programs, and knowledge of the inheritance of the quality traits and accurate identification of elite hybrids is vital for breeding success. The heredity of four intrinsic qualities, i.e., total flavone, chlorogenic acid, luteoloside, and isochlorogenic acid A, were investigated in a segregating F1 population. We implemented the principal components analysis (PCA), the membership function method, and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) to identify hybrids of superior quality. The quality traits were widely segregated, with the coefficient of variation ranging from 0.29 to 0.88. Transgressive individuals in both directions were observed for all investigated traits. Genotypes, environments, and genotype × environment interaction significantly affected the investigated compounds, and a moderate-high heritability was at 0.57 ∼ 0.84. Total flavone, luteoloside, and isochlorogenic acid A showed highly positive heterosis (P < 0.01), while chlorogenic acid demonstrated negative heterosis, and the heterosis ratio was separately estimated at 17.11%, 127.14%, 14.51%, and -9.10%. Moreover, three elite hybrids with a comprehensive evaluation value (D) larger than 0.8 were selected for breeding use. The current study's findings add a new understanding of the inheritance pattern of the investigated active compounds, and the production of improved hybrids represents an essential step towards developing high-quality tea chrysanthemums.