Relationships of the Gymnosperms and Angiosperms Estimated on the Basis of Data Obtained by Biochemical Methods

The phylogenetic relationships of gymnospermous and angiospermous plants were studied. To this end, 13 antisera to seed proteins of plant taxa representing all the four classes of the gymnosperms were obtained. The antigens used in immunochemical reactions with these antisera included the proteins of 134 seed samples representing 91 families from all the 11 subclasses of dicotyledons and 64 seed samples representing 33 families from five out of six classes of monocotyledons (according to Takhtajan, 1996). Immunochemical analysis was performed by the methods of double immunodiffusion in agar gel (two variants) and immunoelectroblotting. In addition, some samples of seed proteins were analyzed for amino acid composition. The results corroborate the concept that the seed plants are a monophyletic taxon. The angiosperms apparently originated from a progymnospermous ancestor or branched from the main stem of gymnosperms prior to its division into the recent phyla. No common ancestor of all subclasses of the angiosperms has been identified.