The geographic origin of cultivars involved in F1 hybrid weakness was established using phaseolin type, as determined by one-dimensional SDS/PAGE. In all cases investigated, F1 weakness arose in crosses between an ‘S’ phaseolin, small-seeded parent of Middle American origin and a ‘T’ or a ‘C’ phaseolin, large-seeded parent of Andean origin. The appearance of F1 hybrid weakness reflects the geographical isolation of common bean cultivars of the two regions and points to the existence of two separate gene pools in cultivated common bean germplasm.
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