Isoenzymes as an aid to clarify the taxonomy of French elms

Abstract

Isoenzymes were used to assess the genetic variability of the three French species of elms: Ulmus laevis Pall, from section Blepharocarpus, Ulmus minor Mill, and Ulmus glabra Huds. from section Ulmus. Three main results were obtained. The first was that these species are segmental tetraploids, i.e. they behave as tetraploids for part of the genome and as diploids for the rest of it. Secondly, we found that there exists a large amount of polymorphism in the French species of elm. Thirdly, Ulmus laevis produces isozyme patterns which differentiate it from species in section Ulmus. These results contribute to a clarification of the taxonomy of elms. © The Genetical Society of Great Britain.