GENETIC DIVERSITY ASSESSMENT OF Calendula officinalis WILDING PLANTS LOCALLY GROWN IN BULGARIA, USING SRAP MARKERS

The pot marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) is a well-known garden plant cultivated also for medicinal purposes. In Bulgaria, C. officinalis is an annual plant, often self-seeding and generating garden escapees. The present study describes assessment of the genetic diversity of wilding C. officinalis plants originating from the region of the Rose Valley, Bulgaria, using SRAP (sequence-related amplified polymorphism) markers. Analysis of the data using the Structure software did not support the existence of a clear genetic structure within this set of analyzed wilding plants. Further comparative SRAP analysis of small sets of C. officinalis plants originating from seeds of wilding plants and seeds derived from various European seed suppliers was carried out. The results suggest that the genetic diversity of the tested wilding plants largely resembles the range of genetic diversity of the plant sets derived from commercially available C. officinalis seeds. The possibility of using wilding C. officinalis plants for selection of breeding lines and varieties, well adapted to the local conditions and suitable for organic growing and production of bioactive extracts and compounds is discussed.