The Use of See0 Protein Banding Patterns for Identification of Pasture Cultivars

Because of the growing number of pasture cultivars used in N.? and the drfficulty of rekably separating cultivars of the same species by morphologrcal characters, seed protein banding patterns have become a useful supplementary means of cultivar identrfrcation for the purposes of seed certiftcation and plant variety rights appkcations. Sodium dodecylsufphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of proteins extracted from ground seed samples produces drstinctive patterns of bands representmg seed storage proteins of drfferent molecular werghts. The procedure can be carried out rn two days usmg viable or dead seed, and the results are not affected by site and season of growth. Although indivrdual seeds of outbreeding specks% such as perennial ryegrass and white clover produce drfferent banding patterns, the combined populatron representing the cultlvar remains constant unless there has been genetrc shift during seed multiplication. Speckes for whrch this procedure is being successfully used include the ryegrasses and fescues, browntop, cocksfoot. bromes, red and white clovers, subterranean clover, serradella and lotus. Even cultrvars es closely related es Nui and Ellen ryegrasses and Huia and Pitau whrte clovers can be separated by careful work. Because of mmor technical differences between runs, all cultivars to be compared must be run on the same gel.