Flavonoid patterns and the phytogeny of barley

Abstract

By means of thin-layer chromatography, 1424 local varieties of barley were investigated. Two collections of Hordeum spontaneum and one of H. agriocrithon were also analysed. In H. vulgare three distinctly different flavonoid patterns were found, designated A, B and C. The B pattern could be divided into two types: B1 and B2. The flavonoid pattern of H. spontaneum deviates sharply from those of H. vulgare. Hordeum agriocrithon has the same flavonoid pattern as the A pattern in H. vulgare. The flavonoid patterns A and B occur throughout the cultivated area of H. vulgare. However, differences in frequency between the A and B patterns were revealed when different areas were compared. Flavonoid pattern C is, with a few exceptions, found only in varieties of barley from Ethiopia. Controlled crossing experiments between the different flavonoid types of H. vulgare were performed on a limited scale. The phylogeny of H. vulgare in relation to H. spontaneum and H. agriocrithon is discussed. The flavone glycosides that constitute these differences are briefly reviewed.