BADR, ABDELFATTAH1,2*, HANAA H. EL SHAZLY1,3, HADDAD EL RABEY4, and LINDA E. WATSON1. 1Botany Department, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA; 2Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt; 3Department of Biological and Geological Sciences, Ain Shams University, Egypt; 4Genetic Engineering Research Institute, Menoufia University, Egypt. - DNA amplified fragment length polymorphisms and the relationships of Lathyrus(Fabaceae).
DNA amplified fragment length polymorphisms in 37 taxa representing 18
species of Lathyrus (Fabaceae) were analyzed by distance
methods and the resulting trees were used to reassess the
classification of the examined species. The majority of the examined
taxa represent section Lathyrus (27 taxa; 12 species), but ten
taxa representing three other sections were also included in this
study. The analysis of AFLPs demonstrated very clearly a close
affinity among taxa of the same species confirming the existence of
genetic basis for the taxonomic identity of the examined species. The
analysis delimited the studied species in three groups, two of which
may be regarded as one super group that comprised the species of
section Lathyrus. In this section, L. cicera, L. hirsutus,
L. gorgoni and L. sativus formed one group. In the second
group of this section L. annuus, L. blepharicarpus and L.
hierosolymitanus were distinguished as a subgroup from another
subgroup comprised of L. latifolius, L. marmoratus, L.
sylvestris and L. tingitanuus. In the third group, L.
aphaca of the monotypic section Aphaca was associated with
two species of section Linearicarpus, whereas L.
shaericus of the latter section was associated with two species of
section Clymenum. The AFLP analysis did not support the
separation of L. gorgoni in section Gorgania; it is
clearly a member of section Lathyrus and is closely associated
with L. sativus. AFLP data also indicated that section
Linearicarpus seems to be an unnatural group. The relationships
of the examined species, as revealed by the analysis of AFLPs, are
discussed in the light of their previous classifications based on
other lines of evidence.
Key words: AFLP, Fabaceae, Lathyrus