The Composition of Anthocyanins and Carotenoids Influenced the Flower Color Heredity in Asiatic Hybrid Lilies

Flower color, including color hues and spot patterns, is an extremely important trait in Asiatic hybrid lilies. Investigating flower color variation across different cross combinations may help us select breeding parents efficiently. Thus, three hybridizations with different compositions of anthocyanins and carotenoids were performed, and 65, 289 and 125 offspring were obtained, respectively. For the parents and progenies, flower color hues were quantified by the CIELAB system, and the total number of raised spots on tepals was counted. Then, a cluster analysis and a statistical analysis were used to explore the inheritance patterns of flower color. The results showed that an orange flower color with high levels of carotenoids was highly heritable and that the progenies were less segregated, showing orange, orange-red, and yellow flowers. Parents showing red and purple-red flowers with differing levels of carotenoids and anthocyanins produced offspring with extensive segregation, including pink-white, pink, orange-pink, orange-red, yellow, and orange flowers. Meanwhile, different contents of anthocyanins and carotenoids resulted in variable proportions in color groups. Additionally, for F1 generation, the number of raised spots was continuously separated, demonstrating distinct quantitative genetic characteristics. For parents with few or intermediate spots, the hybrid plants showed both prominent negative and positive heterosis. For parents with many spots that covered almost the full tepals, the hybrid seedlings all exhibited raised spots.