Abstract
We established protocols for the analysis of genetic diversity in chayote (Sechium edule) by using isozyme markers, thereby determining the level of genetic diversity present in 42 accessions of chayote from Costa Rica. We obtained clear and reproducible zymograms for eight enzyme staining systems: PGM, 6-PGD, PGI, IDH, MDH, SOD, SKD, and EST, and were able to score 14 putative loci. Eight of the 14 loci examined were polymorphic. We found 35 distinct multilocus genotypes among these accessions. Five of these multilocus genotypes were homozygous for all loci. In addition, our data also revealed that most of the multilocus genotypes (24) were heterozygous for only one of the eight loci, and the rest were heterozygous for two or three loci (9 and 4 accessions, respectively). Seven multilocus genotypes were found in two different accessions. Dice similarity coefficient was used to study the relationship between accessions. This analysis, based on the presence and absence of alleles, revealed that accessions collected in the same location seldom shared the same multilocus genotype. The value of isozyme polymorphisms as tools to continue studies on the characterization of chayote is discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. María Zaldivar for her advice during the preparation of this manuscript and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on a previous version of this manuscript. We also thank Mr. Gabriel Aguilar and Mr. Luis Castro for their ongoing advice and support during the electrophoresis work; Ing. Abdenago Brenes and Ing. Juan Carlos Saborío from the Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica for their support during sample collection and accession identification. This work was supported by grants from the International Plant Genetic Institute (IPGRI) and Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (ITCR) to AA, and grants VI-111-93-584 and VI-111-98-393 of the Vicerrectoría de Investigación, Universidad de Costa Rica to OJR.
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Abdelnour, A., Rocha, O.J. Genetic characterization of a collection of chayote, Sechium edule (Jacq.) Swartz, in Costa Rica by using isozyme markers. Genet Resour Crop Evol 55, 163–170 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-007-9225-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-007-9225-6