Inheritance and epistasis of loci influencing carotenoid content in petal and pollen color variants of california Poppy (Eschscholzia californica Cham.).

The model basal eudicot plant California poppy (Eschscholzia californica Cham.) typically has intense yellow to orange petals and orange pollen due to pigmentation by carotenoids. Flower color variants ranging from white to yellow and orange are common. We analyzed flower color inheritance in a diverse range of white and yellow color variants with reduced carotenoid content. The inheritance of the petal-pollen color of 24 variant flowers was investigated through complementation analysis by hybridization between different color variants and screening F(1), F(2), and BC(1) populations for segregation of petal-pollen color. All white and yellow flower color variants exhibited the pleiotropic effect with each mutation influencing both petal and pollen color, with both petal and pollen color phenotypes coinherited. A total of 5 complementation groups were identified with the color variants behaving as single recessive loci. Epistatic interactions among the loci were also identified. The white/yellow California poppy color variants described in this paper represent a unique genetic resource for analysis of carotenoid biosynthesis in this basal eudicot species.