Cytogenetical Studies on the Genus Sesbania Scop. I. Karyotype

Abstract

The genus Sesbania Scop. (Leguminosae) encompasses 50 species distributed in the tropics and sub-tropics. The first cytological studies on genus Sesbania were carried out by Kawakami (1930) followed by Senn (1938) who reported 2n=32 in S. aculeata Poir. (=S. bispinosa Jacq.). In this species, chromosome number, 2n=12 was reported by Rao (1946), Turner (1955), Miege (1960), Bir and Sidhu (1967), Baquar and Akhtar (1968) and Sareen and Trehan (1979). Whereas Jacob (1941), Haque (1946), Sampath (1947), Turner (1955), Datta and Sen (1960) and Dana and Datta (1961) found 2n=24. Aneuploid types with 2n=13 and 14 were reported in this species by Bir et al. (1975) and Bir and Sidhu (1981) besides the normal cytotypes. In S. sesban (L.) Merr. (=S. aegyptiaca Poir.) 2n= 12 was reported by many workers (Jacob 1941, Rao 1946, Haque 1946, Sampath 1947, Turner 1955, Pawar and Kulkarni 1955, Berger et al. 1958, Baquar et al. 1965, Bir and Sidhu 1967, Datta and Neogi 1970, Al Mayah and Al Shehbaz 1977 and Sareen and Trehan 1979). Baquar and Akhtar (1968) found variation in haploid chromosome number n=6 and 7 in var. ‘bicolor’, n=6, 7 and 8 in var. ‘picta’ and var. ‘sesban’ of this species. Such type of variation was also reported by Bir et al. (1975) who found n=6, 7 and 12 in var. ‘bicolor’, n=6, 7, 8 and 14 in var. ‘picta’ and n=7 and 8 in var. ‘sesban’. Atchinson (1949) and Pawar and Kulkarni (1955) reported 2n=12 in S. macrocarpa Muhl. In S. grandiflora Pers. n=7 was reported by Krishnaswamy and Rangaswamy Ayyangar (1935) and Senn (1938), whereas later reports of Jacob (1941), Rao (1946), Haque (1946), Sampath (1947), Tjio (1948) and Baquar and Akhtar (1968) established the chromosome number of this species to be 2n=24. In the present study karyotypes have been analysed in one variety each of S. sesban (L.) Merr. (=S. aegyptiaca Pers.), S. aculeata Pers. (=S. bispinosa Jacq.), S. grandiflora Poir. and two varieties representing two cytotypes of S. macrocarpa Muhl. © 1987, Japan Mendel Society, International Society of Cytology. All rights reserved.