Chrysanthemum is the important cut flower after rose among the ornamental plants traded in the global flower market. It is propagated vegetatively and also has a strong sporophytic self-incompatibility system as shown by all members of Asteraceae family. Morphologically, the petal numbers and flower colours present maximum variation when compared to existing varieties. Twenty Inter Simple Sequence Repeat primers were used to detect the new variety of Chrysanthemum developed through spontaneous sporting. The results indicate that the rate of polymorphism showed significant differences as compared to other existing varieties. The average number of amplification products per primer was eight. The size of ISSR amplified fragments varied from 0.25 - 2.4 Kbp. Therefore, ISSR marker is a useful technique for the rapid and easy assessment of genetic variation among the variants. Morphological traits of new variants showed variation as compared to other parents. The 1st flower bud appearance and the height of 1st bud of the variant were less as compared to original mother variety. The new variants can be propagated in large scale commercially through in vitro technique.
Chrysanthemum; sporting; variety identification; ISSR markers
