CHLOROPLAST DNA RESTRICTION FRAGMENT VARIATION AMONG STRAWBERRY (FRAGARIA SPP) TAXA

Restriction fragment-length polymorphisms (RFLPs) of chloroplast DNA ( cpDNA) were used to study phylogenetic relationships among twenty-six Fragaria taxa and two closely related species, Potentilla fruticosa L. and Duchesnea indica (Andrews) Focke. Sixteen restriction enzymes and probes of the entire Nicotiana tabacum L. chloroplast genome revealed a very low level of variation among the Fragaria taxa, limiting phylo genetic resolution, However, Fragaria appears to be more closely relat ed to Potentilla than Duchesnea. The diploid taxa, F. iinumae Makino, F. nilgerrensis Schlect. and F. vesca L. were the most divergent Fraga ria taxa and F. iinumae appears to be the most ancestral taxon, Little variation was revealed within the economically important octoploid gr oup of taxa, which gave rise to the cultivated strawberry, and no prog enitor taxa to the octoploid group could be identified. The lack of va riation in the chloroplast genome suggests that these Fragaria species may be of relatively recent evolutionary origin.