Abstract
The relationship of 9 Medicago species belonging to 4 subgenera was analyzed by using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methodologies. We analyzed 85-132 RFLP band patterns, which were caused by chloroplast DNA variations, to estimate the genetic distance among the species. These species were clustered together at around 0.1 to 0.4 Ievel of distance for marker, indicating that the Medicago species have a large genetic similarity. The most similar species were M. Iittoralis and M. truncatula and the most dissimilar one was M. Iupulina. The cluster analysis based on RFLP band patterns differentiated 9 species in another 4 groups: a) M. Iittoralis. M. truncatula, M. scutellata and M. sativa ; b) M. orbicularis and M. radiata ; c) M. rigidula and M. minima ; d) M. Iupulina. Comparing the previous classification of Medicago species with that in this study, there are two discrepancies; M. Iupulina is the most distant species from others and M. sativa (subgenus M:edicago) was closely clustered with M. scutellata. M. Iittoralis and M. truncatula classified in subgenus Spirocarpos.
