No abstract

Information on the breeding system of plants is crucial for maintenance of accessions in germplasm banks. Controlled pollination experiments were conducted in the field to determine the breeding systems of several Vicia species. Vicia articulata Hornem., V. benglmlensis L., V. erv///a (L.) Wllld., V. lutea L., and V. sativa L. were automatic self-fertilizing species. Vicia pannonica Crantz was nonautomatic selffertilizing. Vicia villosa Roth ssp. villosa and V. villosa Roth ssp. varia (Host) Corbiere were cross-fertilizing. Therefore, regeneration of the accessions of the latter two species requires the use of procedures that provide isolation from foreign pollen. G ERMPLASM BANKS are mandated to preserve, as closely as possible, the original genetic integrity of accessions of different species. Regeneration of these accessions requires the use of methods that minimize genetic drift or erosion of their potentially unique characteristics. Proper procedures for the maintenance and multiplication of a species are dependent on the breeding system of the species, the reproductive success of the genotypes, and isolation from foreign pollen (Frankel and Galun, 1977). Although reproduction of several Vicia species has been reported, only Mlyniec (1962) provided actual data on V. villosa. Some species from the subgenus Cracca, namely, Vicia hirsuta (L.) Gray, V. ervilia, V. articulata, V. humilis Kunth, and V. nana Vogel, have been reported to be self-fertilizing (Hanelt and Mettin, 1989). Subspecies of V. sativa L. and V. lathyroides L. also were reported to be self-fertilizing (Hanelt and Mettin, 1989). However, Hanelt and Mettin (1989) indicated that about 10% cross-fertilizations may occur in V. sativa ssp. sativa. Mlyniec (1962) determined that in V. villosa 15 % of the fruits had seeds when visited by bees (Apis mellifera L., Bombus spp.) and only 0.5% fruits had seeds when not exposed to pollinators. McGregor (1976) suggested that V. villosa ssp. varia may be similar to V. villosa in its pollination requirements. Vicia villosa, V. pannonica, and V. sativa ssp. nigra reportedly produce more seeds when exposed to bees (McGregor, 1976). The lack of information on the breeding systems of 27 Vicia species that encompasses 1715 accessions held

Maintenance and use of germplasm collections of Vicia species is difficult because of limited information on their mating systems. Polymorphism of seven enzyme systems in 31 accessions of 12 Vicia species were measured by isoelectric focusing to infer their mating system. To compare variability within and among accessions and between species, polymorphism indices were calculated by means of isozyme bands. All enzymes studied had polymorphic banding patterns. Twenty‐eight accessions were variable for at least one of the seven enzymes, whereas three other accessions were uniform for all seven enzymes. Within‐accession variation was larger than that among accessions in V. villosa Roth and V. villosa ssp. varia (Host) Corbière, whereas within‐accession variation was smaller than that among accessions of V. articulata Hornem., V. benghalensis L., V. cracca L., V. ervilia (L.) Willd., V. lutea L., V. narbonensis L., V. pannonica Crantz, V. peregrina L., and V. sativa L. The results agreed with field tests which demonstrated that V. villosa and V. villosa ssp. varia are predominantly cross‐fertilizing species, whereas the other species are mainly self‐fertilizing. The use of isozyme bands to determine mating system proved to be accurate. In addition, this method is convenient because it utilizes a small seed sample and is inexpensive and easy to perform.

We report here expression of a protein based polymer gene (Gly-Val-Gly-Val-Pro)m , coding for three amino acids in a pentamer sequence repeated 121 times via the nuclear' ge~ome of tobacco cells. Transformed tobacco cells were obtained by particle bombardment. Stably transformed cells show the presence of the polymer gene in the tobacco nuclear genome (2-5 copies); introduced polymer gene is transcribed efficiently as revealed by Northern blots; Western blots show the presence of the polymer protein. To the best of our knowledge, this report represents the first demonstration of expression of a synthetic gene (with no natural analog) in higher plants.