Isozyme polymorphism provides fingerprints for germplasm ofArachis glabrata Bentham

Arachis glabrata Bentham, a wild, perennial relative of the cultivated peanut, has been under development as a forage plant for the subtropics and tropics since the early 1960s. To complement the limited genetic resources available in those years, a significant germplasm collection has been assembled in recent years. But little is known about the genetic diversity in this species because research has focused mainly on agronomy. This study aimed to investigate the utility of isozymes for characterisingA. glabrata germplasm. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) was applied to rhizome-tip tissue. Isozyme characterisation by PAGE showed a high degree of intraspecific polymorphism for the isozymes α-EST, ACP, GOT, and DIA. When analysed together, the four isozyme systems could clearly distinguish all 15 accessions ofA. glabrata held in the germplasm collection at CIAT. Although several accessions originated from the same region, similarity in isozyme patterns was not correlated with geographic origin. Examining rhizome-tip tissue is useful inA. glabrata, a species which produces few seeds.