Summary
A technique has been developed whereby chloroplast DNA can be digested with EcoRI endonuclease without prior isolation of the DNA from the organelle. The specific fragmentation patterns produced show that chloroplast DNAs from different families or genera of plants have few if any bands in common, and it is not until comparisons are made between species of the same genus that similarities become apparent. The number of bands in common between species varies considerably from genus to genus and the degree of similarity of chloroplast DNAs may be correlated with how closely related the species are as judged by their ability to form viable hybrids.
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Communicated by Ch. Auerbach
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Atchison, B.A., Whitfeld, P.R. & Bottomley, W. Comparison of chloroplast DNAs by specific fragmentation with EcoRI endonuclease. Molec. Gen. Genet. 148, 263–269 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00332900
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00332900