Studies on somaclonal variation in Phalaenopsis

The morphological and genetic variations in somaclones of Phalaenopsis True Lady "B79-19" derived from tissue culture were evaluated. In 1360 flowering somaclones, no apparent difference was found in the shape of the leaves, whereas flowers in some somaclones were deformed. We have demonstrated that 38 selected random primers can be used to generate amplified segments of genomic DNA and to differentiate polymorphisms of somaclonal variations in Phalaenopsis. The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) data indicated that normal and variant somaclones are not genetically identical. We also studied the banding patterns of aspartate aminotransferase (AAT) and phosphoglucomutase (PGM) in young leaves of variant and normal somaclones of Phalaenopsis. With respect to AAT, three distinct banding patterns were found in normal somaclones and only two-banded phenotypes were detected in variant somaclones. In a comparison of the banding patterns of PGM isozymes, three to four bands were detected in normal somaclones and two to three bands in variant ones.