APPLICATION OF MOLECULAR TOOLS FOR STUDY OF THE PHYLOGENY OF DIPLOID AND POLYPLOID TAXA IN TRITICEAE

In addition to morphological variation, molecular tools such as allozyme variation and variation in chloroplast DNA, 2D-protein patterns, 5S and 18-26S rRNA gene and spacer nucleotide sequences, and variation in repeated nucleotide sequences, were recently employed in phylogenetic studies in Triticeae with a variable success, The latter tool was successfully used to reconstruct the phylogeny of the diploid species in the genus Triticum L. In parallel, a technique for the investigation of the phylogeny of polyploid plants, based on the variation in repeated nucleotide sequences, was developed. An example of its use is discussed in the context of the classification of Triticeae.