Genetic Analyses of Glutamate Dehydrogenase Isozymes in Cultivated and Wild Species of Section Cepa in Allium

Abstract

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) was studied to establish the genetic system of GDH isozymes in section Cepa of Allium. Detailed analyses of the GDH zymograms of the diploid and triploid hybrids between A. fistulosum and A. cepa Aggregatum group revealed that the degree of association of the GHD subunit varied from monomer to hexamer. The GDH expressions in the two cultivated and four wild species used in this study were governed by two alleles Gdh-1^F and Gdh-1^A at a single locus (Gdh-1). In A. fistulosum, A. galanthum, A. oschaninii and A. altaicum, the allele Gdh-1^F was observed, while Gdh-1^A was noticed in A. cepa Aggregatum group, A. cepa Common onion group and A. vavilovii. These results indicate that the GDH isozyme genes are useful genetic markers in section Cepa.