A new chromosome number in Polygonatum cirrhifolium Royle - an endangered liliaceous medicinal herb.

摘要

A strain of P. cirrhifolium growing wild in Lahul and Spiti regions of Himachal Pradesh, India, varied from earlier forms in chromosome number (2N=32, which is reported for the first time) and karyotype architecture. This strain had 2 pairs of long chromosomes instead of one. It also varied by the absence of 4 short chromosome pairs (against 12 reported in the Western Himalayan form) and presence of one additional distinctive karyological feature, i.e. presence of only one single pair of chromosomes with secondary constrictions. The karyotype of this collection was bimodal and characterized by intraspecific heterozygosity. Based on chromosome metrics and position of the centromere, the somatic chromosome complement was broadly classified into 3 distinct groups: (i) 2 pairs of long subtelocentric chromosomes, (ii) 6 pairs of medium chromosomes with metacentric/submetacentric/subtelocentric primary constrictions, and (iii) 8 pairs of short metacentric/submetacentric chromosomes..