BERMUDAGRASS CULTIVAR IDENTIFICATION BY USE OF ISOENZYME ELECTROPHORETIC PATTERNS

Isoenzyme analysis has been demonstrated as an effective tool for definitive identification of plant cultivars, but it has not been applied to pasture bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) cultivars in the USA. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) was used to study five isoenzyme systems in mitochondrial, microsomal, and soluble cell fractions of actively growing leaves, stems, and roots of seven vegetatively-propagated pasture bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) cultivars used in the southern half of the USA. Peroxidase, esterase, and, with one exception, acid phosphatase successfully differentiated between the cultivars in all leaf and stem cell fractions. Fewer cultivar differences were found for amino- and endo-peptidases. Only peroxidase and acid phosphatase were resolved from root cell fractions; and only the microsomal fraction differentiated between all cultivars. Within plant parts, cultivars were distinguishable on the basis of peptidase banding in some cellular fractions, but not in others. Plant part and subcellular fraction-specific isoenzyme variations suggest the existence of multiple molecular forms of various enzymes within the same plant.