Genetic analysis of safflower domestication

BMC Plant Biology

Table 1 Average trait values of mapping parents

Trait	Carthamus palaestinus(progenitor)	Carthamus tinctorius(cultivated safflower)
Rooting rate (cm day^-1)	3.24	2.41
Average leaf size (cm²)	7.352	12.3
^xAverage leaf roundness	0.559	0.412
Spininess (^yspine index/leaf perimeter)	0	19.031
Days to flower	33.29	31
Primary capitulum height (mm)	18.97	21.13
Primary disc diameter (mm)	16.94	16.76
Number of heads	8.78	8.63
Flower color (lab color space a* units)	5.47	16.88
Stem height (cm)	32.94	31.36
Number of internodes	19.11	12.33
Internode length (cm)	1.74	2.56
Lowest branch height (percent up stem)	72	47
Number of selfed seed	12.44	68.59
Achene weight (mg)	33.8	31.2
Achene length (mm)	6.23	6.63
Achene width (mm)	3.63	3.38
Seed viability (percent)	75	84.9
Seed dormancy (average number of days until germination)	10.95	4.31
Seed oil (percent)	21.35	26.29
Palmitic acid (percent)	6.97	6.78
Stearic acid (percent)	2.79	2.57
Oleic acid (percent)	26.69	12.72
Linoleic acid (percent)	63.55	77.93

Bold indicates trait values that are significantly different from one another (t-test, p < 0.05).
^xAverage leaf roundness = 4 × [leaf area/(π × (major leaf axis)²], where values closer to 1 represent circular shapes and values closer to 0 represent oblong shapes.
^yspine index = number of spines × length of longest leaf spine (in mm).

ISSN: 1471-2229