| Abstract: | The present study used 15 simple sequence repeat loci to characterize the genetic diversity of the germplasm that originated the current industrial chicory and to establish the relationships between and inside Cichoriumintybus L. and Cichorium endivia L. Initially we analyzed 19 cultivated C. endivia accessions, 27 wild and 155 cultivated C. intybus accessions distributed among three groups: 83 root chicories, 42 Witloof and 30 leaf chicories. The leaf chicories comprised cultivars corresponding to the Radicchio, Sugarloaf and Catalogne subgroups. The latter has not been previously included in any genetic diversity study. Subsequently, 1297 individuals from the 15 modern root chicory cultivars at the origin of the breeding of the current industrial root chicory cultivars were analyzed. Although the accessions of C. endivia and C. intybus were clearly separated from each other, seven wild C. intybus individuals were genetically closer to C. endivia than to C. intybus, revealing complex genetic interrelationships between these species. The differentiation of C. intybus into three cultivar groups (Witloof, root chicory and leaf chicory) was confirmed. The leaf chicory individuals were divided into three genetic subgroups, corresponding to the Radicchio, Sugarloaf and Catalogne cultivars, thus attesting to the validity of the classification based on morphological factors. Clear differentiation was observed among the Belgian, Polish and Austrian modern industrial root cultivars, but not among the French industrial modern root cultivars. The high phenotypic and genetic variability of the modern industrial root cultivars indicates that this germplasm constitutes a useful gene pool for cultivar improvement and selection. |
