Multiple origins of cultivated radishes as evidenced by a comparison of the structural variations in mitochondrial DNA of Raphanus.

Configurations of mitochondrial coxI and orfB gene regions were analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in three wild and one cultivated species of Raphanus. A total of 207 individual plants from 60 accessions were used. PCR with five combinations of primers identified five different amplification patterns both in wild and cultivated radishes. While the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) type of Ogura male-sterile cytoplasm was distinguishable from the normal type, the mtDNAs of normal radishes were further classified into four types. The variations were common to wild and cultivated radishes, although contrasting features were found depending on the region of cultivation. These results provide evidence that cultivated radishes have multiple origins from various wild plants of Raphanus.