Phylogenetic relationships among cultivated landraces and natural populations of wild subspecies of Tartary buckwheat were investigated by constructing an NJ tree based on RAPD markers focussing on east Tibetan natural populations. Ten plants from three cultivated landraces and 29 plants from five natural populations of wild subspecies in eastern Tibet were used for RAPD analyses. The wild subspecies from eastern Tibet was classified into three types; (1) same type as cultivated landraces; (2) closely related to natural populations of northwestern Yunnan; and (3) an exceptional population, Zhuka, which was closely related to Sichuan populations. Since the type (2) is considered as the wild ancestral type of cultivated Tartary buckwheat, we conclude that eastern Tibet too may be one of the center of origin of this crop.
Eastern Tibet - Origin of cultivated Tatary buckwheat - RAPD markers - Wild Tartary buckwheat