Nuclear DNA Variation in Relation to Cytological Features of Some Species in the Genus Plantago L

抄録

The nuclear DNA content in 14 taxa belonging to 9 species of Plantago from Egypt has been measured using cytophotometric methods. The recorded DNA amounts were related to the karyotype features of the studied species. In general the amount of nuclear DNA/genome is correlated with the basic chromosome number. Species having x=6 i.e. P. lagopus, P. lanceolata, P. major and P. notata contain higher amounts of nuclear DNA/genome when compared with the species having x=5 i.e. P. albicans, P. crassifolia, P. crypsoides and P. cylindrica. Three samples of P. ovata (x=4) were found to contain the least amounts of DNA/genome. It was also found that polyploid taxa contain higher amounts of 4C DNA/nucleus than diploid species. The impact of these results on the taxonomic relationships of the studied species is discussed.