ESTIMATING DIVERSITY AMONG LAGERSTROEMIA SPECIES AND HYBRIDS USING SSR MARKERS

Lagerstroemia, native to south-eastern part of Asia, is one of the approximately 31 genera composing the Lythraceae family (Order: Myrtales) and there are approximately 80 species in the genus. Lagerstroemia indica, L. fauriei, L. speciosa and L. subcostata have been employed as ornamental plants, but only the first two have been extensively used in the breeding, selection, and development of modern crapemyrtle cultivars. The wide assortment of inflorescence colors, forms, and sizes, coupled with a long flowering period have increased the popularity of this genus. Cultivars with a broad range of plant sizes (from miniature <1 m shrubs to +10 m tall trees), growth habits (broad, upright, weeping), cold hardiness (Zones 6-10), disease resistance, and a range of bark characteristics and foliage fall colorations have been introduced by breeding programs over the last 30 years. In this study, DNA was extracted from leaf tissue from Lagerstroemia species and cultivars and analyzed for simple sequence repeat (SSR) variation. Objectives include assessment of marker utility in estimating species diversity, verifying L. indica and L. fauriei pedigrees of named cultivars, and unambiguous cultivar identification.