Abstract
Electrophoretic and morphological variation was studied in 13 cultivars ofC. lanatus and 31 accessions ofC. colocynthis from Israel. Twelve enzyme systems were assayed, representing 19 loci. We found 12 commercially grown cultivars to be monomorphic at all loci. OneC. lanatus accession collected from Israel is highly polymorphic and carries alleles ofC. colocynthis; this accession is probably a representative of a locally cultivated land race grown by Bedouins for animal feed. Over a range of 500 km two forms ofC. colocynthis were identified: one which grows along the coastal plains of the Mediterranean and the other in the arid Negev and Sinal deserts. A high level of electrophoretic and morphological divergence was found between plants of the two regions, whereas within the ecotypes little variation was observed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bailey, C., Danin, A., 1981: Bedouin plant utilization in Sinai and the Negev. — Econ. Bot.35, 145–162.
Fulks, B. K., Scheerens, J. C., Bemis, W. P., 1979: Natural hybridization of twoCitrullus species. — J. Hered.70, 214–215.
Furea, T. B., 1972: The evolution of the genusCitrullus. — Bot. Ž.57, 1365–1372.
Gottlieb, L. D., 1981a: Gene number in species ofAstereae that have different chromosome numbers. — Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.78, 3726–3729.
—, 1981b: Electrophoretic evidence and plant populations. — Prog. Phytochem.7, 1–46.
Miltau, O., 1978: The possibility of developing a watermelon resistant to Powdery Mildew through interspecific crossing withCitrullus colocynthis. — M.S. Thesis, The Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, The Faculty of Agric.
Nei, M., 1972: Genetic distance between populations. — Amer. Natur.106, 283–292.
Rick, C. M., Fobes, J. F., Tanksley, S. D., 1979: Evolution of mating systems inLycopersicon hirsutum as deduced from genetic variation in electrophoretic and morphological characters. — Pl. Syst. Evol.132, 279–298.
Shimotsuma, M., 1960: Cytogenetical studies in the genusCitrullus. IV: Intra-and interspecific hybrids betweenC. colocynthis andC. vulgaris Schrad. — Jap. J. Genet.35, 303–312.
Tanksley, S. D., Rick, C. M., 1980: Isozymic gene linkage map of the tomato: applications in genetics and breeding. — Theor. Appl. Genet.57, 161–170.
Whitaker, T. W., Davis, G. N., 1962: Cucurbits. — New York: Leonard Hill Books.
Zamir, D., Ladizinsky, G., 1983: Genetics of allozyme variants in lentil. — Euphytica (in press).
Zohary, D., 1983: Wild genetic resources of crops in Israel. — Isr. J. Bot.32, 97–127.
Zohary, M., 1976: A New Analytical Flora of Israel. — Tel Aviv: Am Oved Pub.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zamir, D., Navot, N. & Rudich, J. Enzyme polymorphism inCitrullus lanatus andC. colocynthis in Israel and Sinai. Pl Syst Evol 146, 163–170 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00989543
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00989543