Genetic diversity in four cabbage populations based on UPOV and IPGRI description forms and allozyme variation

Abstract

Morphophysiological characters, designated as descriptors by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), and allozyme variation were used to study genetic diversity among four cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.) open pollinated (OP) populations. The morphological and physiological characters, and gene frequencies among OP populations were analysed by using cluster (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Both methods gave the same clustering of OP populations. The relationships found among OP populations by analysing UPOV descriptors (30 characters) and IPGRI descriptors (30+14 characters) were similar. The relationships among OP populations obtained from gene frequencies were not similar to those obtained from morphophysiological characters, but two of the four OP populations were clustered together by both categories of data. The biggest correlation between the relationships among OP populations obtained from morphophysiological characters and those obtained from gene frequencies was r = −0·44 and r =−0·38 given by PCA and CA respectively. The importance of each character or allele with respect to the relationships among OP populations were also detected by PCA.