Seed protein electrophoresis of wild and cultivated species of Celosia (Amaranthaceae)

Total seed storage proteins of five species of Celosia (14 taxa) have been compared by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Relative similarities between the taxa were estimated by Jaccard's similarity index and cluster analysis was performed to produce a UPGMA dendrogram which divides 14 taxa into two groups while C. trigyna holds an isolated position. One group includes 4x C. cristata and C. plumosa, wild 8x C. argentea and 12x C. whitei and the other separates four accessions of 4x C. argentea. This raises a doubt regarding 4x types of C. argentea being the direct progenitors of the cultivated types.