Maternal inheritance of mitochondria in Eucalyptus globulus

Abstract

It is important to verify mitochondrial inheritance in plant species in which mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) will be used as a source of molecular markers. We used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) approach to amplify mitochondrial introns from subunits 1, 4, 5, and 7 of NADH dehydrogenase (nad) and cytochrome oxidase subunit II (cox2) in Eucalyptus globulus. PCR fragments were then either sequenced or cut with restriction enzymes to reveal polymorphism. Sequencing cox2 showed that eucalypts lack the intron between exons 1 and 2. One polymorphism was found in intron 2–3 of nad7 following restriction digests with HphI. Fifty-four F1 progeny from seven families with parents distinguishable in their mitochondrial nad7 were screened to show that mitochondria were maternally inherited in E. globulus. These results constitute the first report of mitochondrial inheritance in the family Myrtaceae.