Protein electrophoresis as an aid to oat variety identification

Ten cultivars of oats (Avena sativa L.) were investigated for their isozymes of esterase (E), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), and anodal and cathodal peroxidase (APX and CPX).From repeated observations, a typical zymogram was prepared for each enzyme system, and the frequencies of the isozyme bands were scored for each variety separately. The results showed that: (1) most of the isozyme bands are very stable in their appearance on the gel: (2) each variety has a characteristic isozyme pattern; (3) 7 out of 10 oat cultivars showed no intravarietal isozyme variation. Some variation was found for the varieties Mesa, Rapida and Curt. This overall high level of homozygosity and homogeneity of these varieties for the isozyme bands makes this technique useful for varietal identification.