Duplication of locus coding of malate dehydrogenase in Populus tomentosa Carr.

Horizontal starch-gel electrophoresis was used to study crude enzyme extraction from young leaves of 234 clones of Populus tomentosa Carr. selected from nine provenances in North China. Ten enzyme systems were resolved. One hundred and fifty-six clones showing unusual allozyme band patterns at locus Mdh-1 were found. Three allozyme bands at locus Mdh-1 were 9:6:1 in concentration. Further studies on the electrophoretic patterns of ground mixed pollen extraction of 30 male clones selected at random from the 156 clones were conducted and it was found that allozyme bands at locus Mdh-1 were composed of two dark-stained bands and a weak band. Only one group of the malate dehydrogenase (MDH) zymogram composed of two bands was obtained from the electrophoretic segregation of pollen leachate of the same clones. A comparison of the electrophoretic patterns one another suggested that the locus Mdh-1 coding malate dehydrogenase in diploid species of P. tomentosa was duplicated. The duplicate gene locus possessed three same alleles and was located in mitochondria. The locus duplication of alleles coding malate dehydrogenase in P. tomentosa was discovered and reported for the first time. Supported by the “Tenth Five-year Plan” National Key Project in Science and Technology (Grant No. 2002BA515B0303) and the National “863” Project (Grant No. 2002AA241071)]