Identification of Kentucky Bluegrass Cultivars with Esterase and Phosphoglucomutase Isoenzyme Markers1

Abstract
Starch gel electrophoresis was used to further extend the identification of Kentucky bluegrass cultivars. A total of 24 cultivars were examined for isoenzyme variation in esterase (EST), phosphoglucomutase (PGM), phosphoglucoisomerase (PGI), and glutamate‐oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) using starch gel‐electrophoresis. Esterase and phosphoglucomutase patterns were varible among the 24 cultivars. ‘Baron’, ‘Fylking’, ‘Merion’, and ‘Newport’ were examined for isoenzyme pattern differences between seed and seedling materials. Differences of esterase isoenzyme patterns were found between the two kinds of tissues. Seeds of ‘Adelphi’ and ‘Glade’ harvested from different fields and years were examined for isoenzyme consistency and within seed lot variation. Variation within seed lots differed from seed lot to seed lot. If seedlings from a seed lot were mixed, a constant pattern of both EST and PGM isoenzyme systems was obtained for different seed lots of the same cultivar. Therefore the process of mixing seedlings allows the finger‐printing characterization for Kentucky bluegrass cultivars even if there is occasional segregation from sexual reproduction.