VARIATION IN ESTERASE OF TRITICUM AND AEGILOPS ANALYZED BY GEL ISOELECTROFOCUSING TECHNIQUE

Using the gel isoelectrofocusing technique, the zymograms of esterase from germinating seeds of 78 strains belonging to 26 species of Triticum and Aegilops were studied. Although some esterase bands were observed only in a limited number of species, seven bands (band 1-7) at pI 7.3, 6.8, 5.4, 5.4, 5.3, 5.2 and 5.1 were found in common in several species. Among these, bands 5 and 6 showed high density, almost, in all species, whereas densities of bands 3 and 4 varied greatly among the species studied. Activities of bands 1, 2 and 7 were low in most of the species. Among the Triticum species, T. dicoccoides (4 strains), T, timopheevi (11 strains), naked emmer wheat (10 strains) and naked common wheat (9 strains) exhibited marked variations in zymograms, while einkorn wheat (6 strains), T, dicoccum (5 strains), T. araraticum (3 strains) and T. macha (13 strains) showed relatively little variations in their zymogram patterns. In order to know changes in the zymogram during domestication of a wild species, wild and cultivated species having the same genome formula were compared. T. monococcum (cultivated einkorn) showed more complex zymograms than T, boeoticum (wild einkorn), while T. timopheevi had simpler zymograms than its wild form, T. araraticum. T. dicoccum (cultivated spelt emmer) showed comparatively complex zymograms than that of T, dicoccoides (wild emmer), whereas T. durum and T, turgidum (cultivated naked emmer) had simple zymograms. Apparently, these results suggest that domestication of a species could result in both simplification and complication of the esterase zymogram. The zymograms of two synthesized polyploids, namely, synthesized common wheat (genome formula AABBDD) and synthesized Ae, triuncialis (CCCuCu), closely resembled the sum of the zymograms of their parents, i, e., emmer wheat (AABB) and Ae. squarrosa (DD)in the former, and Ae. caudata (CC) and Ae. umbellulata (CuCu)in the latter. However, they differed from those of the existing species of common wheat and Ae. triuncialis having the same genome constitution. © 1969, The Genetics Society of Japan. All rights reserved.