Flax species polymorphism for isozyme and metabolic markers

Genetic diversity of flax isozyme patterns of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase, and cytochrome-c-oxidase in leaves, as well as the level and the relative amounts of fatty acids in seed oil were studied in flax species. The isozyme loci examined were found to be polymorphic. It was shown that each of the flax species studied was characterized by strictly defined amounts and proportions of fatty acids, i.e., the fatty acid composition of the seed oil may be used as a species diagnostic trait. Our results suggest that all of the flax species studied have the same ancestor. Linum grandiflorum was shown to be a phylogenetic branch split at an early stage of the flax evolution.