Morphological characterization, essential oil composition and DNA genotyping of Ocimum basilicum L. cultivars

The Ocimum genus includes more than 150 species. However, some attributions are difficult, due to the interference of man with selection, cultivation and hybridisation within the genus and to large morphological variation among the different species. A system of standardized descriptors, based on volatile oils, has been proposed, but its use is limited by the fact that several environmental factors may influence the plant chemical composition. In this paper, we experiment the usefulness of molecular markers of DNA polymorphism, based on AFLP analysis, to unravel disputed attributions. We conclude that the combined analysis of morphological traits, volatile oil composition and molecular markers represents the optimal approach to verify taxonomy and to correlate it with agronomic traits. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.