PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS IN THE GENUS ARACHIS BASED ON SEED PROTEIN PROFILES

Seed protein profiles of 19 accessions representing seven sections of the genus Arachis were studied using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The general profile showed appreciable homology between these taxa, supporting their classification based on morphology and cross-compatibility relationships. The accessions of section Arachis expressed a high variation confirming inferences from earlier studies. Variation between accessions of a species is limited. Accessions of the section Ambinervosae and Caulorhizae formed one cluster and accessions of sect. Erectoides and Procumbensae formed another. Whereas the representative accessions of sect. Triseminalae and Extranervosae formed two independent clusters. Using the percentage of dissimilarity in electrophoretic bands as a statistical genetic distance between accessions, sect. Arachis (containing the cultivated groundnut, A. hypogaea) is phylogenetically closest to sect. Erectoides followed by Procumbensae, Ambinervosae, Caulorhizae, Triseminalae and Extranervosae, respectively.