Characterizing safflower germplasm with AFLP molecular markers

Characterization of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) with molecular markers is needed to enhance germplasm management and utilization. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was completed in safflower resulting in 102 unambiguous polymorphic markers. Pairwise distances were calculated for eight diverse populations of 12 plants each, and on bulked leaf tissue of 96 accessions. The 96 accessions represented seven world regions (the Americas, China, East Africa, East Europe, the Mediterranean, South Central Asia, and Southwest Asia). A bootstrap procedure was used to compare mean distances within and between populations and regions. Mean distances within populations, a measurement of population diversity, ranged from 0.005 to 0.315 and differed in 22 of 28 possible Comparisons. Regions differed in all pair-wise comparisons showing that AFLP markers distinguished safflower diversity across broad geographic groups. Correlation of the AFLP distance matrix with a phenotypic data matrix with 16 attributes consisting of oil, meal, and growth characteristics was significant (r = 0.12, P < 0.05) but explained only 1.4% of the variation. This weak correspondence between AFLP and phenotypic data showed that both should be used to fully characterize safflower diversity. Amplified fragment length polymorphism markers were useful for characterizing diversity in safflower and will be valuable for germplasm management and mapping safflower traits.