Development of ISSR- and RAPD-derived SCAR markers for identification of <i>Gladiolus</i> germplasm

<i>Gladiolus</i> is an economically important ornamental crop, cultivated for its beautiful flowers throughout the world. The correct genotype identification of plant material is very significant for the floriculture industry. The aim of this study was to develop sequence-characterised amplified region (SCAR) markers from RAPD and ISSR fragments for identification and authentication of <i>Gladiolus</i> germplasm. The SCAR markers developed could be easily employed as valuable tools to identify newly developed <i>Gladiolus</i> cultivars. The SCAR markers, viz. ScG12, ScG34, and ScG36, are specific to the DNA from all 62 <i>Gladiolus</i> cultivars, as they did not amplify the DNA of other taxa of the family Iridaceae, including <i>Iris</i>, <i>Amaryllis</i>, and <i>Narcissus</i>. All three SCAR markers distinguished <i>Gladiolus</i> from other taxa of the family Iridaceae, whereas marker ScAm was specific to the ‘Amethyst’ cultivar. Our results confirmed that this particular SCAR marker distinguished the ‘Amethyst’ cultivar from the other 62 <i>Gladiolus</i> cultivars investigated in the present study. This development of SCAR markers based on RAPD and ISSR markers seems to be the maiden attempt for <i>Gladiolus</i> cultivars.