Variations in floral characteristics and scent composition and the breeding potential in seed-derived oil-bearing roses (Rosa damascena Mill.)

Oil-bearing rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) is one of the most strongly scented rose species used in the perfumery and cosmetics industries. This research ultimately aimed to reveal the variation in and evaluate the breeding potential of plants whose seeds were derived from R. damascena, which has only been propagated vegetatively for centuries. The seeds extracted from the mature fruits of open-pollinated plants were stratified at 4 °C for 3 months and sown into vials. Seedlings in pots were grown under greenhouse conditions, and a total of 83 seed-derived plants were finally planted in the experimental field. The 3-year-old progenies were examined for floral characteristics and scent composition by using HS-SPME combined with GC-MS. A wide variation in flower characteristics was identified, e.g., with different petal colors from white to red and petal numbers from 5 to 115. Considerable variability in floral scent molecules such as phenylethyl alcohol (23.26%–74.54%), citronellol (5.57%–31.59%), and geraniol (3.09%–26.93%) was recorded among the seed-derived plants. As a result, the genetic variations resulting from the segregation of the alleles at heterozygous loci were appropriate for the clonal selection of novel oil-bearing rose varieties.