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SEROLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE SYSTEMATICS OF THE RUBIACEAE AND RELATED FAMILIES
Author(s) -
Lee Yoo Sung,
Fairbrothers David E.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
taxon
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1996-8175
pISSN - 0040-0262
DOI - 10.2307/1220236
Subject(s) - rubiaceae , biology , botany , taxon , apocynaceae
Summary Serological techniques have been employed in a systematic investigation of selected taxa of the Rubiaceae and selected putative relatives. Mature seed proteins were compared by quantitative and qualitative serological methods. Presaturation techniques were combined with the Ouchterlony tests to obtain additional data. An antiserum was presaturated and used in double diffusion tests to react against selected cross antigens. The combination of presaturation tests with double diffusion provided valuable information about the distribution of determinant groups. Various taxa belonging to 14 genera of Rubiaceae were reacted with taxa of the Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Cornaceae, Dipsacaceae, Gentianaceae, Nyssaceae and Umbelliferae. Quantitative data emphasized the similarity of the Rubiaceae to the Cornaceae and Caprifoliaceae. Presaturation tests using Rubiaceae antiserum revealed that the immunoprecipitating systems obtained with Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae and Gentianaceae were very similar to those systems obtained with the Cornaceae. Presaturation tests made it possible to determine that one or two systems were common to the five above families, and this has been interpreted as evolutionary similarity. Asperula and Galium were found to be serologically similar to each other, while being the two most dissimilar genera when compared with all other Rubiaceae genera.