AFLP Analysis of Ser. Chrysantha Chang (Camellia, Sect. Chrysantha)

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was assessed in 35 accessions of Ser. Chrysantha Chang (Camellia, Sect. Chrysantha) collected from China, including 14 species and 1 variety following Flora of China and other 7 species being controversial in taxonomy. Four primer combinations E-ACG/M-CAG,E-ACG/M-CTG,E-AGG/M-CTG and E-AGG/M-CAT were used for selective amplification, from which Eco RⅠ primers were fluorescent dye-labeled. A total of 298 fragments were detected, in which 278 are polymorphic. We analyzed the AFLP data using Nei & Li similarity coefficient and UPGMA Cluster method. The result suggested that (1) C. huana was a distinctive species; (2) C. longgangensis, C. longruiensis, C. ptilosperma, and C. grandis should be merged into C. flavida .; (3) C. chrysanthoides, C. micrantha, C. xiashiensis and C. parvipetala are closely related and probably conspecific.