Maria Krzakowa
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland
Title: The distinctiveness in diploid cultivars of Westerwolths ryegrass (Lolium westerwoldicum Breakw) revealed by fosfoglucose-isomerase (PGI) and diaphorase (DIA) polymorphism
Biography
Biography: Maria Krzakowa
Abstract
Lolium westerwoldicum is an important forage grass originated from the Netherlands. It has been selected by farmers of Westerwolde from local rapid growing Italian ryegrass types within the populations of local variety. Westerwolths ryegrass is the shortest-life form of all annual ryegrasses. Genetic examination of this interesting species is very limited. One-month seedlings of L. westerwoldicum cultivars originated from different European countries: France (Barcomet, Gipsyl, Suxyl and Melword), Germany (Duccado, Grasser and Nerissa), Belgium (Mendoza), Netherlands (Bartimo and Gepetto) and Poland (Mowester) were treated as populations and investigated in terms of the two dimeric enzyme systems: phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI; EC 5.3.1.9) and diaforase (DIA; EC 1.6.4.3). From each cultivar, minimum 30 plants were examined in 11% starch gel (SIGMA), prepared on the basis of lithium-boric buffer system. Electrophoretically detected phenotypes were created by four alleles of one locus in PGI and two alleles in one locus in DIA were used to calculate the genetic parameters like heterozygosities (He and Ho)and polymorphic index (Pg). When all populations were compared according to PGI allozymes frequency, all populations show high polymorphism from Pg=0.53 for Mowester till Pg=0.81 for Gepetto. Polymorphic indices calculated for DIA are fluctuating from PG=050 for Bartimo till Pg=065 for Ducado.
All populations were compared on the basis of alleles frequency using Unweighted Pair Groups Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) and illustrated by dendrograms constructed for both: PGI and DIA enzyme systems. Dendrogram constructed for PGI allozymes shows two groups of populations: one composed of two cultivars: Mendosa (Belgium) and Melword (France) and the second group composed of 8 varieties. Population Bartimo from Holland is visibly separated. Dendrogram constructed for DIA on the basis of alleles frequency shows three groups: two composed of three populations and one of five populations. The first is formed by Bartimo from Holland as well as Suxyl and Gipsyl from France). The second three-species group is composed of Meword (France), Mowster (Poland) and Ducado (Germany). It is visible that connections between populations do not indicate regional similarity.