Subgenus Amygdalus Research Articles

Isozyme survey of various species of Prunus in the subgenus Amygdalus

Seventeen isozyme systems were surveyed in clones of almond ( Prunus dulcis Webb), P. davidiana (Carr.) Franch., P. kansuensis Rehd., P. mira Koehne, peach ( P. persica (L.) Batsch), and P. persica ssp. ferganensis, all members of the subgenus Amygdalus. Nine systems, representing 16 presumptive loci, stained consistently to characterize. Three of these presumptive loci were monomorphic, while the other 13 presumptive loci were polymorphic for 36 possible alleles. The significance of these results relative to the genetic mapping of peach is discussed.

Phylogenetic relationships among species of Prunus as inferred by isozyme markers

An isozyme survey of 34 species of Prunus representing subgenera Prunus, Amygdalus, Cerasus, and Lithocerasus detected 110 presumptive alleles at 11 isozyme loci. Principal component analysis was conducted on the covariance matrix derived from allelic frequencies calculated for each species. Cluster analysis was performed on the first 30 principal components. Results generally support traditional classification of Prunus at the subgeneric level, except for members of subgenus Lithocerasus and two members of subgenus Amygdalus. Prunus glandulosa Thunb., P. japonica Thunb., and P. tomentosa Thunb. of subgenus Lithocerasus and P. triloba Lindl. of subgenus Amygdalus appear to represent primitive species. P. besseyi Bailey and P. pumila L. of subgenus Lithocerasus and P. andersonii of subgenus Amygdalus should be assigned to subgenus Prunus. Placement of its members indicates that subgenus Lithocerasus is an artificial grouping of species that are very different genetically although similar phenotypically.