ISOELECTRIC-FOCUSING ANALYSIS OF RUBISCO IN LEPIDIUM (BRASSICACEAE), SECTIONS LEPIA, LEPIOCARDAMON AND CARDAMON

Relationships among nine Lepidium taxa (five species, one of them with five subspecies) usually classified in sections Lepia, Lepiocardamon and Cardamon were studied by isoelectric focusing (IEF) analysis of RUBISCO (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, EC 4.1.1.39), a molecular marker for the chloroplast and nuclear genome. Our results are in agreement with the generally accepted systematic classification founded upon a morphological approach. The taxonomic status of section Cardamon, questioned in the literature, is supported. Further evidence is provided that IEF patterns of RUBISCO do not seem to vary with the geographic origin of samples, growth conditions or developmental stage, thus strengthening the value of this enzyme for systematic and evolutionary studies.