INTERSPECIFIC AND INTRASPECIFIC SEROLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS IN PELLIA-EPIPHYLLA COMPLEX

Antigenic proteins were used as markers for the study of relationships between three liverwort species from P. epiphylla complex. It has rec ently been shown that the electrophoretic phenotypes of this species s uggested an amphiploid origin of P. borealis. Two sibling species: P. epiphylla -species S and -species N could have probably represented th e parental species for P. borealis. We examined three clones of P. bor ealis from different localities using immunodiffusion. Then we compare d them with P. epiphylla species S and N as well as with the mixture o f proteins of P. epiphylla S and N samples. The results indicate that polyploid P. borealis shows an identical immunological pattern to that of the mixture of proteins of putative parental species. Only in one case the result resembled much more the pattern of P. epiphylla S prot eins. The sibling species P. epiphylla S and N showed antigenic differ ence but the nature of the differences requires further studies. Antig enic properties of proteins from P. epiphylla S and N and of their all opolyploid -P. borealis, indicated some specifity of the protein spect rum in each of the parental species and intermediate character of prot eins in the polyploid forms.