[SRAP fragments linked to spines of Carthamus tinctorius].

Sequence related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) technique was used to identify SRAP fragment linked to Carthamus tinctorius L. spines of outer involucral bract (OIB) , experimental evidence for molecular marker assistant breeding of Carthamus tinctorius L. has been provided. Based on the strategy of bulk segregate analysis (BSA), two gene pools were separately constructed according to the extreme trait of OIB with many long spines and no spines from Carthamus tinctorius L. Forty-five pairs of SRAP primers were selected and screened from two parents and two gene pools, and one SRAP marker M3E3 was found to be linked to the spines in segregating F2 population confirmation. M3E3 SRAP band was excised, cloned and sequenced. In 20 spininess individuals, this marker was present in 16 spininess individuals and absent in 4 individuals. This band was absent in the 15 spineless F, segregating individuals, which accounted for 11.4% recombination. The M3E3 extract length was 349bp, of which the base components of A + T accounted for 41. 08%. One SRAP marker M3E3 linked to the spines in Carthamus tinctorius L. will be of good use for breeding spineless cultivars at the molecular level in the future.

Yield components, leaf pigment contents, patterns of seed filling, dry matter, LAI and LAID of some safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) genotypes in Iran.

In order to assess the genotypic variation among yield components and different physiological parameters and their relationships with safflower seed yield, six safflower genotypes were grown in Pakdasht, Iran in a randomized complete block design with four replications, during 2003-2004 growing season. Among the genotypes, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a+b, total carotenoids contents, chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b ratio and Chlorophyll a+b/total cartenoids ratio ranged from 0.78 to 1.10, from 0.54 to 0.71, from 1.37 to 1.71, from 0.09 to 0.13 mg g(-1), from 1.33 to 1.68 and from 13.52 to 14.82, respectively. Negative relationships existed between seed yield and pigment contents. There were significant yield differences among genotypes and varied from 2452.60 to 3897.20 kg ha(-1). A diverse range of capitulum diameter (24.08-28.91 mm), seed weight/capitulum (1.18-2.04 g), number of seeds/m2 (8704.5-13165.4), number of capitula/plant (16.38-23.27), number of seeds/capitulum (35.65-41.90) and 1000-seed weight (29.94-50.60 g) was recorded. Genotypes differed in HI and the HI values ranged from 21.83% (LRK-262) to 29.62% (IL.111). In the studied set of 6 safflower genotypes, total biomass and LAI peaked around after full flowering and at the beginning of flowering, respectively. Zarghan-279 (with the greatest LAID) had 25% longer LAID than LRV.51.51 (with the lowest LAID). Differences among genotypes for rate of seed filling and effective seed filling duration were significant and differences in seed yield could be attributed to differences in the rate of seed filling. The results of this experiment indicate that physiological parameters including rate of seed filling, rapid leaf formation and expansion and delayed plant senescence are the characteristics of high-yielding safflower. Also, higher dry matter accumulation, HI, seed weight/capitulum, 1000-seed weight and capitulum diameter were found to be closely related to high-yield genotypes.

Inheritance of flower color and spininess in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.).

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) flowers are used for coloring and flavoring food and also as fresh-cut and dried flowers. The most important characteristics which contribute to the ornamental value of safflower are flower color and spinelessness. The objective of this study was to determine the inheritance mode and the number of genes controlling spininess and flower color in some Iranian genotypes of safflower. The results indicated that the existence of spines on the leaves and bracts of safflower is controlled by a single dominant gene in which the spiny phenotype was completely dominant to spineless. In some crosses, flower color was controlled by two epistatic loci each with two alleles, resulting in a ratio of 13:3 in the segregating F2 population for plants with orange and yellow flowers. Also, other mechanisms of genetic control, such as duplicate dominance and duplicate recessive types of epistasis, were observed for flower color in other crosses that led to ratios of 7:9 and 15:1 for plants with orange and yellow flowers, respectively. The results suggest that for ornamental use or in the food dying industry, genotypes with orange or yellow flowers and without spines on the leaves and bracts can be produced.