Chloroplast DNA variation in the wild potato species, Solanum acaule and S. albicans

The chloroplast DNA of Solanum acaule (109 accessions) and S. albicans (9 accessions) was investigated by restriction endonuclease analysis. Unexpectedly, all the accessions analyzed had C type chloroplast DNA in common. This suggested that S. acaule originated from a species with C type chloroplast DNA. DraI restriction digestion revealed further differentiation of C type chloroplast DNA into 8 types. The DraI polymorphism indicated the province of Salta in Argentina and the nearby regions to be a center of diversity for S. acaule. Surprisingly, S. albicans as well as S. acaule both ssp. acaule and ssp. punae, from Peru were virtually indistinguishable, although by morphology and/or cytology all three taxa are easily distinguished. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.