Isozyme characterization of Eucalyptus urophylla (S.T. Blake) and E. grandis (Hill ex Maiden) populations in Brazil

Abstract

Seedling taken from 2 species of Eucalyptus growing in Brazil were electrophoretically analysed at 14 isozyme loci representing 6 enzyme systems: α-EST, β-EST, SKDH, IDH, MDH, and LAP. Genetic variability measures were determined using 11 putative isozyme loci. On average, 81.8% and 54.5% of the loci were found to be polymorphic by the criterion of 95% in E. urophylla and E. grandis, respectively. The mean number of alleles per loci was 3.0 in E. urophylla and 2.5 in E. grandis. Observed mean heterozygosity was 0.283 in E. urophylla and 0.166 in E. grandis. Levels of genetic diversity in these species were similar to those in other Eucalyptus species which have widespread distributions. The possible hybridization of E. urophylla with E. alba is also discussed.