Meiotic studies in Poa annua L. from different altitudinal ranges of North India

Abstract

Poa annua L. (family Poaceae) is a cosmopolitan, cytologically variable and apomictic species. At present, cytomorphological studies have been carried out for North-Indian materials on 29 populations from Haryana (North Indian plains), Shiwalik hills and Kangra (H.P.) covering different altitudinal ranges (216-1489 m) of relatively unexplored areas. All the 29 populations are found to be tetraploid with n=14. Morphologically, plants of all the populations looked similar without any significant variation but cytologically speaking, among these, 24 populations show normal meiotic course whereas 4 populations show abnormal meiosis in the form of bridges, laggards, etc. The phenomenon of cytomixis has also been studied in 1 population. The variable number of B-chromosomes (1-3B) has been reported in some of the populations. © 2010 The Japan Mendel Society.