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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #62285
Title: ELECTROPHORETIC COMPARISONS OF ENZYMES

Author
item YAMAZAKI, M - UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO
item Kurtzman, Cletus
item SUGIYAMA, JUNTA - UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

Submitted to: Yeasts: A Taxonomic Study
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: This review chapter is for the international reference book The Yeasts - A Taxonomic Study. Relationships among microorganisms can be determined by a variety of biochemical methods. Electrophoresis of cellular enzymes, that is, the extent of movement of catalytic cellular proteins on a gel to which an electric current has been applied, provides a means for determining relationships. Resolution of this method relative to other methods is discussed. The comparison shows that electrophoresis of cellular enzymes separates closely related species, but the method cannot determine relationships among distantly related species.

Technical Abstract: The extent of phylogenetic resolution provided from electrophoretic comparisons of cellular enzymes is examined relative to resolution from nuclear DNA reassociation and rDNA sequence divergence. Representative ascomycetous and basidiomycetous taxa are compared. Electrophoretic comparisons provide resolution similar to that from nDNA reassociation. Both methods resolve only to the genetic level of sibling species.