SNA Research Conference Vol. 60 2015 Plant Breeding and Evaluation Timothy Rinehart Section Editor Plant Breeding and Evaluation 167 SNA Research Conference Vol. 60 2015 Genetic Variation of Magnolia sieboldii K. Koch ‘Colossus’ and Magnolia grandiflora L. ‘Kay Parris’ F1 Seedlings Using ISSR Markers Mingmei Wang1,2, Kevin Parris3, Yujie Yang4 and Donglin Zhang2 1College of Forestry, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, Hunan 410004, China 2Department of Horticulture, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 3Department of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 4Department of Horticulture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
[email protected] Index words: F1 variation, interspecific hybrid, ISSR markers, Magnolia sieboldii ‘Colossus’, Magnolia grandiflora ‘Kay Parris’, polymorphic bands Significance to Industry: Magnolia species, cultivars, and hybrids have been revered ornamental plants since cultivation began in the 1700’s. In particular, Magnolia grandiflora cultivars are prevalent in the southeastern nursery industry with over 100 cultivars readily documented in popular reference literature. Recent taxonomic revisions based upon morphological observation and molecular phylogeny derived from cpDNA analysis have clarified relationships within Magnoliaceae. This has provided breeders with new inspiration to attempt crosses once assumed futile. While an understanding of taxonomic relationships, verification of ploidy levels, and genome size are clues to a breeder about reproductive compatibility, more information is needed to better predict reproductive fecundity and compatibility beyond the F1 generation. Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers can provide us with a more detailed view of genetic content to verify parentage, measure variation among siblings of controlled crosses, and potentially facilitate development of novel and desirable cultivars.