ALLOZYME VARIATION AND PHYLOGENY IN ANNUAL SPECIES OF CICER (LEGUMINOSAE)

Allozymic variation at 30 isozyme loci was examined electrophoretically in nine annual and one perennial species of Cicer. While most of the accessions examined were monomorphic, species can be differentiated on the basis of their enzyme phenotypes. Several groups of species were identified based upon genetic distance values. For example, C. arietinum, C. reticulatum, and C. echinospermum shared the same alleles for most of the loci examained. Perennial C. anatolicum is also closely related to this group. Similarly, C. judaicum, C. bijugum, and C. pinnatifidum formed another group. Two annual species, C. chorassanicum and C. yamashitae clustered together, whereas C. cuneatum was the most distantly related species. Correlations were found between genetic distances and geographic distribution. Results from enzyme electrophoresis tend to support the previously reported taxonomic treatments based upon crossability and morphological similarity. However, C. yamashitae, which has been classified in the second crossability group, is quite distinct genetically and morphologically from the remaining species of the group. An isozyme gene duplication observed in the genus suggested the monophyletic origin of the species examined in the present study.