Molecular differentiation of Paulownia species and hybrids

Abstract

Paulownia is the only genus in Paulowniaceae family and encompasses several species with similar characteristics. In the last years the interest for industrial use of the genus is rising in Bulgaria in relation to the possibilities for using it as bioenergy source and a raw material for wood industry. Knowledge of the genus however is very limited and poses difficulties even when species and hybrids that are marketed in the country are to be differentiated. Therefore a system for adequate identification of different genotypes is not just of scientific, but of practical interest as well. Due to the lack of adequately described methods for molecular differentiation of the species of Paulownia sp. the present study aims at assessing the efficiency of using ISSR markers within this genus and to make an attempt to differentiate the genotypes within the group of species and hybrids, that are available in vitro at the Laboratory of Plant biotechnology of the Agricultural University of Plovdiv.