Proceedings of the XLVII Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress

Verona, Italy - 24/27 September, 2003

ISBN 88-900622-4-X

 

Poster Abstract - 3.01

 

ISATIS TINCTORIA L. (WOAD): GENETIC RESOURCES OF A NEARLY FORGOTTEN SPECIES

 

G. SPATARO, P. TAVIANI, V. NEGRI

 

Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale e Biotecnologie Agro-ambientali (DBVBA), Università degli Studi di Perugia

 

 

genetic resources, Isatis tinctoria, molecular marker

 

Isatis tinctoria was widely cultivated in Europe to produce indico, a natural blue dye; this crop was completely abandoned aside at the end of the eighteen century, when synthetic dyes came into use.

 

Nowadays, the interest in I. tinctoria is increasing: the market demand of natural dyes is rising, as these represent an alternative solution of synthetic ones.

 

Aim of this study was to evaluate different populations for:

  1. adaptability at different altitudes. The characters taken into account were: leaves colour, plant carriage and vigour, pre-flowering cases.
  2. the morphologic and physiologic diversity. The characters analyzed were: leaves colour and size, cases of hairness leaves, plant carriage and vigour, pre-flowering cases.
  3. the genetic diversity using molecular markers as AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polimorfism) on bulk DNA.
  4.  

The three experiments revealed a high level of polymorphism for both the morphologic and the genetic side: the populations appear to be very different each other and, contrary to all expectations, the more interesting accessions are the oriental ones. The local and adapted population (Borgorose) seems not to be agronomically interesting because of the plant carriage and vigour, the leaves colour and for the presence of pre-flowering cases.

 

The results related to the agronomic characters (vigour in particular) suggest the possibility of reintroducing successfully the crop in areas quite different for their pedoclimatic conditions.

 

Besides a wide genetic variability among population was found suggesting that efficient breeding program could be carried out when would be necessary to create varieties of this species. The AFLP molecular markers revealed that, in spite of the high outcrossing and the important gene flow, the different selective pressures caused the genetic characterization of population in different habitats.

 

Moreover, the molecular analysis confirmed that the centre of origin of I. tinctoria is likely to be Central Asia as many other Cruciferae.