ISOENZYMATIC VARIABILITY OF OLIVE CULTIVARS ACCORDING TO THEIR ORIGIN

Five enzyme systems: malic enzyme, phosphoglucoisomerase, leucine aminopeptidase, esterase and alcohol dehidrogenase were analyzed by starch gel electrophoresis from pollen samples of 155 cultivars from 13 different countries (Algeria, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lybia, Morrocco, Portugal, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and USA). Eighty different isozyme banding patterns were obtained that allow for: a) the identification of 144 cultivars out of 155 or 134 out of 155 depending on whether the country of origin was or was not considered; b) the establishment of relationships between countries of origin using the overall d² criteria of Benzecri and c) the determination of isoenzymatic variability among cultivars within any country of origin.