Flowcytometric and Allozymic Studies on the Korean Dandelion ( Taraxacum , Asteraceae), With Special Reference to the Hybrid Origin of Taraxacum coreanum Nakai

The origins and genome compositions of East Asian Taraxacum taxa remain poorly resolved. We analyzed genetic relationships among Korean species using an integrated approach combining allozyme analysis, flow cytometry (FCM), and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) PCR‐RFLP. Allozyme data at five dimeric loci revealed clonal diversity in the tetraploid, agamospermous Taraxacum coreanum . Consistent allelic dosage patterns (aaab at sod‐1 ; bddd at mdh‐1 ) indicated fixed heterozygosity and the presence of two genetically distinct genomes within individuals. Comparative analyzes further showed that the ‘ a ’ allele at sod‐1 and the ‘ d ’ allele at mdh‐1 are characteristic of T. mongolicum , whereas the ‘ b ’ allele at both loci is shared by T. ohwianum and T. hallaisanense . FCM demonstrated that the relative nuclear DNA content of triploid T. mongolicum has substantially greater nuclear DNA content than triploid T. ohwianum , indicating pronounced differences in monoploid (1Cx) genome size. Together with the allozyme results, these findings support a KMMM genomic composition in T. coreanum , where K denotes the genome of Korean diploids ( T. hallaisanense and T. ohwianum ) and M denotes the larger genome of T. mongolicum . cpDNA PCR‐RFLP patterns showed that most T. coreanum clones share a maternal lineage with T. mongolicum , although an additional maternal lineage derived from T. hallaisanense was detected in Jeju Island populations. We infer that Taraxacum coreanum is an allotetraploid formed via multiple hybridization pathways, with triploid T. mongolicum occasionally serving as the maternal parent, possibly through facultative agamospermy.