Isoenzyme diversity and phylogenetic relationship among soybean (Glycine max L.) Genotypes

Abstract

Amongst the pulses, soybean (Glycine max L.) is an excellent source of high quality protein (42 per cent) and oil (20 per cent), rich in glycine and vitamins A, B and D. In the present investigation, isozymes patterns were studied among 24 genotypes of soybean. Peroxidase (PER), Esterase (EST), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) isozymes were screened by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) technique to study the genetic divergence. A total of 15 alleles were generated by the three isozymes. Isozymes of SOD exhibited a maximum of seven activity zones followed by EST and PER that showed six and two activity zones respectively. Isozymes of EST showed 83.33 per cent polymorphism while PER showed 50 per cent polymorphism. Jaccard’s Similarity Coefficient values lay between 0.97 to1.00 that divided all the genotypes into two main clusters. PIC values ranged from 0.0 to 0.223 with an average of 0.148. Variation in the isozymes profiles amongst soybean genotypes an indication of genetic variation that could be exploited in breeding programmes for quality improvement.