The use of isozyme characters in systematic studies

Several classes of isozyme characters are recognized including the number of genes that control a given enzyme system, intralocus and interlocus heteropolymer assembly, tissue-specific gene expression, developmental patterns of enzyme expression, and post-translational modification of gene products. All of these characters can be of value in systematic studies although few applications have been made to date; some of the more robust examples are recognized. Isozyme characters should be evaluated in terms of both their advantages and limitations. The level of universality at which they are used is group-specific. Tissue-specific gene expression data may be of the widest applicability in systematic studies. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.