MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR EVALUATION OF THE FAR EAST FRUIT GENETIC RESOURCES OF <i> LONICERA CAERULEA </i> L.

Abstract

Field studies of honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L. s.l.) and material for investigation (91 herbarium accessions; 20 scion samples; and fruits for detailed morphological description, organoleptic and molecular analyses) have been collected in the north-eastern part of the area of honeysuckle distribution, in Kamchatka and Sakhalin regions. All coenopopulations have been characterized ecologically, geobotanically, and phytosociologically. Factors threatening natural coenopopulations have been estimated, and these data preconditioned recommendations for honeysuckle in situ conservation. Fruits of 20 Russian honeysuckle cultivars have been included in comparative molecular assessment together with fruits from natural ecotypes. As a result of AFLP analysis, all investigated material was divided into three groups: two groups include samples L. caerulea, collected in Kamchatka, and the majority of the investigated honeysuckle cultivated forms, while the third group unites only genotypes of the sakhalin plants