Variation and distribution of esterase isozymes inHeteranthelium andTaeniatherum of the tribe triticeae,gramineae

Esterase isozyme variations ofHeteranthelium piliferum, Taeniatherum asperum andT. crinitum collected in Iraq, Turkey and Iran were analysed by gel isoelectric focusing. InH. piliferum two types of esterase zymogram, H1 and H2, were found. It was demonstrated that a pair of allelic genes, which is shown in the heterozygotes, controls the difference between type H1 and H2. Two types of esterase zymogram, T1 and T2, were observed in two species ofTaeniatherum. The majority of strains having type H1 ofH. piliferum and type T1 ofT. crinitum was distributed in the highly elevated plateau of the Anatolian and Iranian highlands, while strains with H2 and T2 of these two species were found in the western foot-hills of the Zagros Mountains, the Tigris basin of Mesopotamia and the central Anatolian plateau.