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A Serological Study of Medicago sativa L. Varieties 1
Author(s) -
Esposito V. M.,
Ulrich V.,
Burrell R. G.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1966.0011183x000600050031x
Subject(s) - medicago sativa , biology , serology , identification (biology) , agronomy , botany , horticulture , genetics , antibody
Certified seed of Medicago sativa L. ‘Atlantic,’ ‘Cayuga,’ ‘Culver,’ ‘DuPuits,’ ‘Haymor,’ ‘Narragansett,’ ‘Orchies,’ ‘Vernal,’ and ‘Warrior’ were utilized in this study to investigate the possibility of employing serological methods for the identification of M. sativa varieties. Specific serological tests appear to be sufficiently definite for the identification of seed protein phenotypes. The results indicate that it is possible to identify nine varieties and to distinguish one from another. At this time, the basis of this intervarietal variation cannot be entirely ascribed to either genetic or environmental components, since both have been shown to influence protein content in other plants and animals; thus, a combination of genetic and environmental components may also be responsible for the diversifications displayed by Medicago sativa varieties. This method of seed identification, if proven to hold over the entire spectra of varietal seed, will offer a relatively fast and inexpensive means for identifying seed. The extreme economy of materials and time is of real advantage in any analysis, but especially so in this type of testing for varietal purity.