Plant & Animal Genome VI Conference

P48

RFLP ANALYSIS OF GENETIC VARIATION AND PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS IN SPECIES OF SECTION Arachis, GENUS Arachis (LEGUMINOSAE).

1. Depto. de Genética, IB, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brasil
2. CENARGEN/EMBRAPA, SAIN, Pq. Rural, Brasília, DF, Brasil
3. Dept. of Botany, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.

Five A-genome species of the genus Arachis (A. cardenasii, A. correntina, A. duranensis, A. helodes, A. kempff-mercadoi), two possibly B-genomes species (A. batizocoi, A. ipaënsis), the AABB allotetraploid A. hypogaea (cultivated peanut) and introgression lines resulting from a cross between A. hypogaea and A. cardenasii were selected for RFLP analysis of genetic variability. A. ipaënsis was the only species that had a genome similar to the B genome of Arachis hypogaea. High similarity was found between the accessions of A. duranensis in spite of the low fertility level of hybrids previously reported between some of them, which suggests there is no correlation between the genetic similarity level and the reproductive isolation of the Arachis species. Low genetic variation was detected within accessions of A. duranensis and A. batizocoi, but genetic variation was high within the old accession GKP 10017 of A. cardenasii, increased for many years in nurseries and greenhouses. This may indicate that not all accessions of wild species of Arachis are autogamous, as reported for A. hypogaea. Thus if this reflects the situation occurring in natural populations, germplasm collection strategies should be designed specifically for each Arachis species.