Abstract
The electrophoretic variability of nine enzymatic loci was studied in 31 populations of eleven species of the genus Orchis (fam. Orchidaceae). This orchid group shows a higher degree of genetic variability (\(\overline {He} = 0.149;{\text{ }}\overline P = 0.439\)) than reported by Gottlieb (Progr. Phytochem. 7:1–46, 1981) for other outbreeding plant species (\(\overline {He} = 0.086;{\text{ }}\overline P = 0.370\)).
Furthermore, the Nei coefficients of genetic identity show a higher biochemical-genetic similarity between species pairs of which we found the hybrids (\(\overline I = 0.571\)) than between other species pairs (\(\overline I = 0.148\)). These results seem to indicate a correlation between hybridizing aptitude and degree of genetic similarity. High values could be partially attributed to the presence of a gene flow between two species which, by hybridizing, would join their genetic pools. But they could also indicate that hybridizing species are not well differentiated: the isozyme similarity would reflect a more general similarity of the gene pool that could lead to hybrid formation.
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Scacchi, R., De Angelis, G. & Lanzara, P. Allozyme variation among and within eleven Orchis species (fam. Orchidaceae), with special reference to hybridizing aptitude. Genetica 81, 143–150 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00226453
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00226453