Characterization and diversity assessment of Hibiscus germplasms using morphological, biochemical and molecular markers

Hibiscus , a popular ornamental plant of mallow family Malvaceae, is composed of more than 400 species of flowering plants. It is originally native to tropical Asia (China and India) and grows in warm -temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions worldwide. The basic chromosome number varies from x = 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20 and 39. In ancient times, it was only used for religious purposes (as offerings to God), but nowadays, it is considered of great significance as an ornamental as well as a medicinal plant. Important species found in this zone are Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., H. cannabinus L., H. storckii Seem., H. fragilis DC., H. schizopetalus (Mast.) Hooker. f. along with germplasms like Celia, Kali Jaba, Red Dragon, Cinnamon Girl, Brilliant, etc. have been identified to date. Still, there is a lack of proper documentation and characterization (based on morphological, biochemical, and molecular traits). With this aim in mind, the above research work was considered. On the basis of morphological parameters (plant height, flower weight, type of flower, etc.), Brilliant (T 1 ), Sudarshan Chakra (T 16 ), Storckii (T 15 ), and Golden Doublon (T 8 ) were similar but diverse from the rest of the germplasms. Likewise, Brilliant (T 1 ), Golden Doublon (T 8 ), Celia (T 2 ), and Versicolor Pinwheel (T 19 ) were rich in biochemical pigments viz., chlorophyll, carotenoid, lycopene, and anthocyanin content. In contrast, phenol and ascorbic acid were found to be highest in Spider (T 15 ), and antioxidant properties (DPPH and FRAP assay) were maximum in Oiseau Blue (T 12 ). Finally, a significant amount of genetic diversity was assessed with molecular markers, and 141 loci were produced using inter simple sequence repeats, start codon targeted, conserved DNA -derived polymorphism, and directed amplification of minisatellite-region DNA marker systems, out of which 49 loci were polymorphic (34.75 % polymorphism). On the basis of molecular diversity analyzed by network plot, unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean clustering, and principal component analyses, Oiseau Blue (T 12 ) was found completely diverse from all the germplasms, placed separately in the dendrogram, and thus may be considered as a potential parent for the hybridization programme. (c) 2024 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.