Morphological and molecular diversity of underutilized and cultivated Allium species from India

Abstract

The Allium is the most diverse genus of family Alliaceae among horticultural crops. It holds unknown potential for commercial traits such as vegetables, medicines, spices and ornamental uses. The genus deals with controversy among species and subspecies sectioning due to huge agro-morphological diversity. The current study demonstrated the effectiveness of morphological descriptors for capturing intra- and inter-species variability in the Allium genus. Here, 13 qualitative and 8 quantitative features on the inflorescence, leaf, scape, and seed of 27 Allium accessions from 14 Allium species were assessed. These characteristics clearly distinguish the species and subspecies. The thirteen qualitative characteristics elucidate the species' taxonomic relationships. Additionally, the UPGMA dendrogram created using these attributes supported the basal location of species and the differences between them. The two major groups formed on basis of leaf type and further sub-classified with other traits. Further random set of 50 ILP markers evaluated for polymorphism among 27 Allium accessions including A. cepa and A. sativum. The species had a high level of transferability and locus conservation (20.6–96.50%). A. sativum recorded the highest cross-specific amplification (> 82%), followed by A. przewalskianum and A. macranthum, whereas A. hookeri had the lowest amplification. ILP markers have an average PIC value of 0.21, with a range of 0.06 to 0.40. More polymorphism and variety among Allium species were found in this study than in other studies. In order to promote horticultural traits through breeding activities, the descriptor created through qualitative trait can be successfully employed for Allium interspecific diversity investigations.