IMMUNOCHEMICAL COMPARISONS OF SEED PROTEINS FROM POPULATIONS OF PINUS RADIATA (PINACEAE)

Antisera were prepared to seed proteins from five populations of Pinus radiata and to seed proteins from six other pine species. Differences between the P. radiata populations detected with these antisera were compared to differences in sizes of cones from the same populations. The strong correlation between antigenic differences and cone size differences provides evidence that in P. radiata, both seed proteins and cone size indicate quantitative genetic relationships among the populations. The data suggest that the three California mainland populations of P. radiata are more closely related to one another than to the insular populations, and that the insular populations are more closely related to each other than to the California populations, to P. attenuata, or to P. muricata.