Caryology of some iranian species and populations of lotus l.

Abstract

Cytology of 12 populations belonging to 8 Iranian Lotus species was performed revealing the chromosome number, ploidy level, chiasma frequency and distribution, chromosome pairing and segregation for the first time. The chromosome number of 4 species of L. garcinii, L. laricus, L. micauxianus and L. schimperi are new reports. The study showed x = 6 and 7 are available in Iranian Lotus species, all taxa studied except L. corniculatus (4x) were diploid showing bivalent formation in metaphase of meiosis I. A low number of quadrivalents occurred in L. garcinii possibly due to hetrozygote translocation. © 2006 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.