Characterization of Rosa ‘Harison’s Yellow’ clones using SNP markers

Rosa ‘Harison’s Yellow’ is a historic old garden rose that originated in the United States c. 1824. It was found in the garden of George Folliot Harison, Esq. in New York City and was introduced by local nurserymen by 1830. ‘Harison’s Yellow’ has bright yellow, loosely double blooms borne for approximately a month in spring, tolerates a wide range of climatic conditions, and is easily propagated from rhizomes and root suckers. Its phenotype suggests it is a hybrid involving R. spinosissima and R. foetida. ‘Harison’s Yellow’ can be found on old United States farmsteads and in stopping places along routes taken by settlers as they traveled west and southwest in the 1800s. Nine clones of ‘Harison’s Yellow’ were obtained for comparison. They were supplied by botanical gardens, commercial nurseries, and individuals, some of whom have had the rose in their family for generations. Six of the nine samples were received as own-root plants which we determined to be triploid. Phenotypic characteristics of all the plants were very similar. The nine ‘Harison’s Yellow’ selections, plus eight additional roses used as controls, were analyzed using the WagRhSNP Axiom® rose SNP array in order to learn whether the ‘Harison’s Yellow’ roses were the same genotype. Out of the 24,512 polymorphic SNPs among all the roses analyzed, only 167 SNPs were polymorphic among the ‘Harison’s Yellow’ samples. All ‘Harison’s Yellow’ selections could be distinguished from each other. Rosa foetida ‘Austrian Copper’ was the most similar to the ‘Harison’s Yellow’ roses with 4,466 polymorphic SNPs separating them. The SNP data suggest that these nine ‘Harison’s Yellow’ samples, and surprisingly one additional single flowered selection (sold as ‘Yellow Spin’), are likely derived from the same ortet, with minor detectable mutations among the ramets that have accumulated since ‘Harison’s Yellow’ entered commerce.