Determination by GISH and FISH of hybrid status in Lilium

In the genus Lilium, plants obtained from crosses, especially between distant relatives, are not always hybrids because embryos can develop as a result of apomixis. These plants constitute genetic material of the maternal parent only. In this study, verification of hybrid status of plants which have been obtained from the crosses 'Marco Polo'xLilium henryi and 'Expression'xL. henryi was performed through the use of cytological and molecular cytogenetic methods. According to cytological analyses, all genotypes tested had 2n = 2x = 24 chromosomes. Genomic in situ hybridisation (GISH) was used for hybrid verification. In hybrid plants, this method distinguished all paternal and maternal chromosomes at the stage of somatic metaphase and prophase. For GISH, paternal genomic DNA was used as a probe and maternal DNAs were used as blocks. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) with 5S rDNA and 25S rDNA probes was used as the second method of hybrid verification. Selected chromosome markers based on genome-specific localisation of rDNA loci were used for analysis of the F1 hybrids obtained from the crosses 'Marco Polo'xL. henryi and 'Expression'xL. henryi. The presence of marker chromosomes characteristic for each of the paternal genotypes was a confirmation that the plants obtained were hybrids.