Isoenzymes in the differentiation of three Euterpe species

The study and analysis of the morphological seed and seedlings characteristics of red-palmito (Euterpe espiritosantensis Fernandes), jussara (E. edulis Mart.) and assai (E. oleracea Mart.) do not allow the seed technologist, or even the plant breeder, to correctly distinguish the species. In this research the discriminator potential of the electrophoresis technique was evaluated for seeds of these species, using nine enzymatic systems. Thirty embryos (0 to 1 mm of protrusion) of each species were used for enzymatic system and electrophoresis run. In order to identify the bands and the correspondent electrophoretic profile, at least 30 runs per enzymatic system were performed in study, using polyacrylamide gel (7.5%). Among the tested isoenzymes, polyphenol oxidase and the acid phosphatase were unstable, without allowing bands visualization. The alpha and beta-esterase isoenzymes could not always be visualized by clear bands, especially for E. espiritosantensis, but both systems were able to distinguish between E. edulis and E. oleracea. The glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and the glutamate dehydrogenase revealed well-marked electrophoretic profiles in all runs, however bands position did not allow the differentiation among the three species. The most efficient isoenzymes that can be used to evaluate genetic purity of seed lots and differentiate the seeds were phosphoglucomutase, phosphoglucose isomerase and peroxidase, by producing strong and distinctive electrophoretic profiles.

Euterpe espiritosantensis; Euterpe edulis; Euterpe oleracea; allozyme markers