Inheritance of isozyme variants in Nothofagus antarctica (G.Forster) Oersted

MILLERÓN, M.; PASTORINO MJ; MARCHELLI, P.; GALLO LA

Basic and Applied Genetics

SOCIEDAD ARGENTINA DE GENÉTICA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2008 vol. 19 p. 27 - 33

1666-0390

The analysis of the genetic variation and evolutionary processes related to the conservation and use of forest genetic resources requires reliable tools. The aim of the present study is to determine the mode of inheritance of isozyme variants of Nothofagus antarctica, species of economic and ecological importance inhabiting the temperate forests of southern South America. Buds from 56 trees and their offspring were subjected to horizontal starch gel electrophoresis. Good resolution and consistent band patterns were obtained from five out of 15 enzyme systems surveyed. Expected equal number of heterozygous and homozygous seedlings of open pollination from a putative heterozygous mother was tested by the Chi-square test. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) revealed invariant ectrophoretic patterns. Glutamate-oxalacetate transaminase (GOT) showed two zones of enzymatic activity, each one encoded by a gene locus with codominant expression and three alleles. Phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) and hosphoglucomutase (PGM) showed two zones, the most anodal of which were invariant, and six and five alleles respectively in the variable zone. Four confident polymorphic gene markers are thus available for different population genetics studies on Nothofagus antarctica.