Strigolactone pathway genes and plant architecture: association analysis and QTL detection for horticultural traits in chrysanthemum.

Chrysanthemums are important ornamental plants with abundant phenotypic diversity. Especially in cut-flower breeding, shoot branching is important for the success of new varieties. To assess the genetic regulation of shoot branching and other horticultural important traits, we phenotyped and genotyped two types of chrysanthemum populations: a genotype collection of 86 varieties and a biparental F1-population (MK11/3) of 160 individuals.

The type of ploidy of chrysanthemum is not black or white: a comparison of a molecular approach to published cytological methods.

Polyploidy is a widespread phenomenon among higher plants and a major factor shaping the structure and evolution of plant genomes. The important ornamental chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum indicum hybrid) possesses a hexaploid genome with 54 chromosomes and was classified based on its evolutionary origin and cytological methods as an allopolyploid. However, it is questionable whether cytological methods are sufficient to determine the type of ploidy, and there are more informative methods available based on molecular marker analyses.

Identification of superior reference genes for data normalisation of expression studies via quantitative PCR in hybrid roses (Rosa hybrida).

Background: Gene expression studies are a prerequisite for understanding the biological function of genes. Because of its high sensitivity and easy use, quantitative PCR (qPCR) has become the gold standard for gene expression quantification. To normalise qPCR measurements between samples, the most prominent technique is the use of stably expressed endogenous control genes, the so called reference genes.