Soluble proteins and isoesterases as taxonomic markers tested on nine wildSolanum species and eight Slovakian potato varieties

Attempts have been made to differentiate 9Solanum species and 8 Slovakian cultivars ofS. tuberosum using soluble proteins, isoesterases and antigenic properties of tuber proteins. Soluble proteins were shown to possess the highest diagnostic value in discriminating between individual species and varieties.S. brevidens of the subsectionEstolonifera deviated from the rest of the species belonging to the subsectionPotatoe. The electrophoretic profiles and immunological responses of individual species only partially correlated with their taxonomic positions. The highest similarity was observed between the pairs of speciesS. bulbocastanum, S. stenotomum, S. maglia-S. phurea andS. gourlayi-S. vernei. It was possible to differentiate also between individual potato cultivars or between their groups according to both soluble protein and isoesterase patterns.