Analysis of genetic variation of seed proteins in the genus Vigna and among its relatives cultivated in China

The genetic variation of seed proteins was assayed by SDS-PAGE for 24 cultivars belonging to 5 species in Vigna and 7 species in its 7 relative genera cultivated in China. There were 48 polymorphic subunit bands discriminated from electrophoretic profiles. Two dendrograms were constructed by UPGMA cluster analyses using PHYLIP3.6 respectively. Variation among genera or species was larger than that among lower taxonomic categories level. Little variation among cultivars of yardlong bean (Vigna sesquipedalis) and small variation of lablab (Lablab purpureus), pea (Pisurn sativum), or sword bean (Canavalia gladiata), but large variation of soybean or rice bean in their origin of China were all revealed. The seed proteins profiles of traditionally regarded as typical species in Vigna such as yardlong bean, rice bean and small bean were more similar than mungbean (Vigna radiata) and black gram (Vigna mungo) were. Mungbean and black gram had distinct seed proteins pattern, they should be of two species.