ABSTRACT
The discovery of the genetic role of DNA has set the stage for studying the structure and evolution of genomes as a means of improving and further elaborating the systematics and the theories of biological evolution. Since the molecular structure of plant genomes is exceedingly labile, this instability must affect the pattern of individual gene evolution. Such molecular probes can well be used for analysis of both the family Fabaceae itself and its phylogenetic ties with other Angiospermae families. Molecular phylogenetic research has focused on comparing individual nucleic acid and protein sequences. The genes of legume and grass storage proteins have been extensively studied. Genome polyploidy increases the genetic variability of plant populations and intensifies the speciation process, yet nothing was known about the intensity of nuclear DNA changes following genome polyploidization. The list of slowly evolving plant genes suitable for long-distant comparisons is increasing very fast.
