Study On The Systematics Of Six Cultivars Of Fig (Ficus Carica L.)

Fig (Ficus carica L.) is perennial subtropical fruit tree, small arbor or shrub. Fig originates from the oasis in west Asia, and is one of the longest cultivated history fruit trees in the world. Its adaptability is so strong and less plant diseases and insect pests that it is easy to cultivate, and the nutritive value of fig is high. So fig is the most worthy developing among the small fruit trees, and is precious resources for developing green food. However, the systematical research of fig is poor, especially in China.Fig has four type cultivars in China: Common type figs, Sanpedro type figs, Smyrna type figs and Capri figs. Six cultivars are used in the resesrch, which are A212, Branswick in the yellow strain, Masui Dauphine, A132, Violette Solise in the red strain, and Chinese fig.There are four types of genetic marker: morphological markers, cytological markers, biochemical markers, molecular markers.Karyotype analysis method, vertical slab polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of SOD, EST and POD isozymes (Zymogram) and genomic DNA random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) are introduced to study the genetic characters of fig, the results of which indicate that six cultivars are divided into three groups, one of which is oringnated from Japan and France,Violette Solise, Branswick and Mausi Dauphine;one is oringnated from USA, A212 and A132; the left is Chinese fig. And the former two groups gather together. They have the nearest relationship in each group, and Chinese fig is far from the other five cultivars. The result of this research is different from that of morphological classification. From the genetic distance one conclusion can be inferred that Chinese fig is the oldest, and Branswick is the youngest. So does the karyotype analysis.