Karyological studies of six taxa of the genus Allium L. (Amaryllidaceae) from Turkey

Abstract

Karyotype structures in representative taxa of the genus Allium L. are compared, based on Feulgen-stained somatic metaphase chromosomes. The karyotypes of Allium arlgirdense, A. anacoleum and A. microspathum (in subg. Allium), and A. rhetoreanum and A. shirnakense (in subg. Melanocrommyum) are described for the first time. The karyological analyses indicate the relationships among the species with respect to asymmetry indices. All Allium taxa studied are diploid with 2n = 2x = 16 chromosomes. One B chromosome is detected in the chromosomes of A. microspathum. All chromosome sets of the studied taxa consist of seven median chromosomes and one submedian chromosomes and all submetacentric pairs bear a satellite on the short arms. The lengths of the chromosomes show remarkable differences particularly at the subgenus level. The three subgenus of genus Allium show a clear tendency to have karyotypes distinct on asymmetry grounds. Karyotype asymmetry relationships are discussed according to the bidimensional scatter plots of A(1)-A(2) and CVCL-M-CA.