Enzyme Electrophoresis and Plant Systematics

Abstract

This chapter discusses the use of enzyme electrophoresis for addressing questions in plant systematics. The present treatment updates previous reviews (Gottlieb and also discusses: (1) the factors involved in the initial applications of enzyme electrophoresis to plant systematics; (2) the kinds of studies employing electrophoresis to be emphasized in the future; and (3) the future of enzyme electrophoresis in plant systematics in light of the increasing emphasis on comparative studies of DNA. The nature of electrophoretic data and comparisons with other information routinely employed by the plant systematist is discussed. Generalizations and patterns emerging from the use of allelic data for examining a variety of systematic questions are presented. Consideration will be given to the value of gene number [or isozyme number] for addressing phylogenetic questions in plants. Exhaustive treatments of particular topics are not attempted. Rather, one to several examples suffice to illustrate a point. Additional studies will be cited but not discussed, and the reader is referred to the more extensive reviews cited earlier for more in-depth treatments. The present review is from a more general perspective and also includes several of my own perceptions and opinions [biases?] about enzyme electrophoresis and plant systematics.