Xingzhu Feng¹ , Haimei Wang ^1,2

1 Hainan Institute of Biotechnology, Haikou, 570206, Hainan, China
2 Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
Plant Gene and Trait, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 6   
Received: 29 Oct., 2025    Accepted: 05 Dec., 2025    Published: 18 Dec., 2025

Gerbera daisies are cut flowers with extremely high ornamental value. Their rich and diverse flower colors are the core commercial characteristics. This article reviews the research progress of color improvement breeding of African chrysanthemums: starting from the types and metabolic mechanisms of pigments that form flower colors, it analyzes the genetic and cellular factors that affect flower colors; Then summarize the achievements and bottlenecks of traditional hybrid selection and molecular breeding in flower color improvement; Finally, in combination with market demand, the application prospects and breeding trends of new varieties are prospected. Studies show that the color of African chrysanthemums is mainly determined by anthocyanin and carotenoid pigments, and its synthesis is regulated by multiple genes and influenced by the environment. Traditional breeding has enriched the types of flower colors, but it is limited by complex genetic backgrounds and long breeding cycles. New technologies such as molecular markers, genetic engineering and gene editing are driving the transformation of breeding from empirical selection to precise design, making it possible to cultivate new varieties with more vivid and stable flower colors. In the future, through multi-omics integration and molecular design breeding, it is expected to accelerate the efficient improvement of African chrysanthemum color and meet the constantly changing market demands.

Gerbera Pattern improvement; Pigment metabolism; Conventional breeding; Molecular breeding; Application prospects