SSR molecular identification and trait analysis of hybrid progeny between Taraxacum kok-saghyz Rodin and Taraxacum spadiceum

【Objective】 This study aimed to conduct hybridization experiments between self-incompatible Taraxacum kok-saghyz Rodin （Tk） and apomictic Taraxacum spadiceum （Ts） to generate apomictic Tk through interspecific hybri-dization for overcoming the problem of inability of Tk to produce seeds with stable genotype due to self-incompatibility， so as to provide a theoretical reference for genetic research and commercial cultivar development in Tk. 【Method】 The apomictic triploid Ts was used as the male parent line， and the self-incompatible diploid Tk as the female parent line. Hybrid progeny were obtained through artificial pollination. Identification of reproductive mode， phenotypic observation， preliminary measurement of root rubber content，and ploidy analysis were conducted for the identified F₁ hybrid. 【Result】 A total of 3759 flowers were pollinated， yielding 157 seed heads， each containing at least one plump seed. Ultimately， 203 healthy progeny germinated， with the seed setting rate was about 1‰， and the hybridization success rate was only 0.03‰. Three pairs of specific primers （SSR48， SSR49， and SSR51） with clear bands and good reproducibility were screened， and SSR48 and SSR49 were codominant primers， amplifying specific bands from male and female parent lines simultaneously. SSR51 could be used to amplify a male-parent-specific band； and three SSR primer pairs were used to identify true hybrids between Ts and Tk. SSR marker detection results showed that among the 203 progeny， 197 exhibited only the maternal specific band， identified as selfed progeny of Tk. The rest six plants possessed both maternal and paternal specific bands， confirming them as the F₁ true hybrid， resulting in a true hybrid rate around 3.0%. Among the F₁ hybrid， five were true hybrid plants exhibiting apomictic reproduction and were triploid. Their leaf shape， size， and scape length more closely resembled the male parent line， and they produced almost no natural rubber. 【Conclusion】 Fertile hybrid progeny can be generated between diploid Tk and triploid Ts through artificial pollination， albeit with extremely low efficiency. The selfed Tk progeny and the small number of apomictic hybrids obtained in this study can be used for subsequent Tk breeding research.