Genetic variation for isozyme genes and proteins in spanish primitive cultivars and wild subspecies of Lens

Summary An analysis of the variability for genes encoding seven isozyme systems and storage proteins in a collection of cultivated and wild accessions of Lens is reported. The collection, which is part of the Spanish INIA Cenebank, contains the ssp. culinaris, orientalis, odemensis, nigricans and ervoides, and presents a high degree of genetic diversity both within and between the accessions. A total 25 loci were examined; of these, 18 were polymorphic (the 7 genes encoding storage proteins, and the following isozyme loci: Acp-1, Acp-2, Cpx-1, Cpx-2, Aat-p, Aat-m, Lap-1, Mdh-2, Mdh-3, Mdh-4 and 6pgd-p) and 7 were monomorphic (Aat-mb, Aat-c, Mdh-1, Mdh-5, 6pgd-2, Pgm-c and Pgm-p). The phylogenetic relationships between subspecies were analyzed using the allelic frequencies. The study suggests that orientalis and odemensis share more biochemical characters than the other subspecies, and that those subspecies keep an intermediate position between Lens culinaris and Lens nigricans.