In: Phyton 60, Fasc. (2020): S. 145-159; DOI: 10.12905/0380.phyton60-2020-0145; Published online on 23 December 2020

Morpho-molecular characterization and differential totipotency
of three Solanum taxa

Ahmed M. Hassanein, Jehan M. Salem, Rania A. Hassan & Dia M. Soltan

with 4 figures and 9 tables

Key words: Morphology, isoenzymes, RAPD molecular markers, tissue culture, Solanum nigrum var. nigrum, Solanum nigrum var. incisum, Solanum sinaicum, taxonomy.

Summary
Hassanein A. M., Salem J. M., Hassan R. A. & Soltan D. M. 2020. Morpho-molecular characterization and differential totipotency of three Solanum taxa. – Phyton (Horn, Austria) 60: 145–159, with 4 figures and 9 tables.*
Characterization of three Solanum taxa (S. nigrum var. nigrum, S. nigrum var. incisum and S. sinaicum) was carried out using 50 morphological characters. Morphological characters revealed similarities between S. nigrum var. incisum and S. nigrum var. nigrum but distinguished S. sinaicum from the other two taxa. Application of 12 RAPD primers expressed average polymorphism of 20 %. Eleven RAPD primers differentiated between the investigated three taxa but only six (OPG-05, OPP-13, OPA-13, OPad-06, OPaf-20 and OPC-5) differentiated between S. nigrum var. incisum and var. nigrum. When plant materials of the three taxa were cultured in vitro under identical conditions, their totipotency depended on genotype. S. nigrum var. nigrum expressed the best totipotency, followed by S. nigrum var. incisum, and S. sinaicum expressed lower totipotency in comparison to the other two taxa. Morphology, isoenzymes, RAPD and in vitro obtained data expressed the same dendrogram patterns, where S. nigrum var. nigrum and var. incisum grouped in one clade with high similarity, but S. sinaicum formed a separate clade. The applied techniques supported the assumption that S. nigrum var. incisum is a distinct variety of S. nigrum, not a synonym, but S. sinaicum is a distinct Solanum species.