Seed protein electrophoresis of the wild and cultivated species of selection faba of Vicia

The seed protein profile obtained by disc electrophoresis was found to be a diagnostic characteristic of the broad bean, V. faba, and of its taxonomically wild relatives V. narbonensis, V. galilaea and V. hyaeniscyamus The marked difference in the seed protein profile of the cultivated species and the three wild species indicated that none of the latter can be considered as the wild progenitor of V. faba. The similarity in the profiles of V. galilaea and V. hyaeniscyamus was consistent with the morphological resemblance of these species and their similar ecological requirements.