Summary
Mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA was isolated from fertile and cytoplasmic male sterile cultivars of cultivated onions. Restriction fragment length polymorphism led to the distinction between cytoplasms S and M. Mitochondrial DNA patterns from S cytoplasms appeared dentical and characterized mostly male sterile lines. An open-pollinated variety was found to bear this cytoplasm and thought to be the origin of S types. Mitochondrial DNA patterns from M cytoplasms were subdivided into four types, M1 and M2 corresponding to normal N cytoplasm, M3 and M4 probably corresponding to T cytoplasms. S and M cytoplasms were also distinguished by chloroplast DNA restriction patterns. Our results confirm previous genetic distinction between S, N and T cytoplasms.
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Communicated by H. F. Linskens
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de Courcel, A.G.L., Vedel, F. & Boussac, J.M. DNA polymorphism in Allium cepa cytoplasms and its implications concerning the origin of onions. Theoret. Appl. Genetics 77, 793–798 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00268328
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00268328