The present investigation was carried out on six economically important species of Asparagus using chromosomal characteristics, 4C nuclear DNA contents, SDS PAGE of total leaf proteins, isozyme polymorphism, and molecular markers to assess their relationship both at inter- and intraspecific levels. Karyotype analysis revealed diploid (2n=2x=20) status in most of the species except tetraploidy (2n=4x=40) in A. cooperi and hexaploidy (2n=6x=60) in A. densiflorus. Karyotype asymmetry existed among the species as well as in same ploidy level of different species. The inter-chromosomal and intra-chromosomal asymmetry ranged from values of 0.902-0.977 and 0.197-0.486, respectively. Again, considering chromosome number, length, volume, and median chromosome number, the primitive nature has been observed in A. densiflonis. The difference in chromosome parameters in all the species suggested the occurrence of structural changes at the chromosomal level. However, a higher degree of correlations has been found between chromosome volume and 4C nuclear DNA content in the six species studied so far. The dendogram obtained from SDS-PAGE and isozyme analysis clearly revealed a close relationship between A. racemosus and A. pyramidalis, but the dendogram obtained from RAPD and ISSR revealed a close relationship among A. pyramidalis, A. densiflorus, and A. racemosus. Asparagus plumosus and A. cooperi also showed a close relationship in all aspects except in ISSR study. All these data clearly indicated that a better phylogenetic relationship can be drawn from the combination of cytological and molecular marker-based analysis, which may assist the breeding pattern or germplasm conservation of the gene pool of specified crops. © 2013 The Japan Mendel Society.

S MUKHOPADHYAY

S RAY

Fulltext

University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University or CU) is a collegiate public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.&nbsp;Within India it is recognized as a &quot;Five-Star University&quot; and accredited &quot;A&quot; Grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

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The University of Calcutta has secured the Fifth position among the Universities of India in the prestigious &quot;Indian University Ranking 2019&quot; list, released by the NIRF of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

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It was established on 24 January 1857, and was one of the first institutions in Asia to be established as a multidisciplinary and Western-style university. Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state, heads of government, social reformers, prominent artists, only academy award winner and Dirac medal winner in India, many Fellows of the Royal Society and five Nobel laureates as of 2019 which is highest in South Asia.

University Of Calcutta

Cytologia

The present article has reported a detailed karyotype analysis and 4C nuclear DNA estimation in different cultivars and populations of Clitoria ternatea L. of Fabaceae. This plant, widely distributed in tropical regions in India, is a climber and is an economically important medicinal plant. The karyotype study has revealed a constancy in the diploid somatic chromosome number (2n=16) in all these cultivars and populations. However, the nature and number of nucleolar chromosomes varied. The centromeric chromosomes were either metacentric or sub-metacentric in all these cultivars. The total chromosome length and volume differed among these cultivars and populations having the same somatic chromosome number. The differential condensation of chromosomes and the association of variable amounts of proteins in chromosome composition might have been responsible for such differences. In situ cytophotometric studies revealed an intermediate genome size in this species. This is the first report on the detailed karyotype and genome size of cultivars of Clitoria ternatea L. © 2016 The Japan Mendel Society.

Karyotype analysis and 4C nuclear DNA estimation in different cultivars of Clitoria ternatea L

Tabernaemontana coronaria of Apocynaceae is an economically important medicinal plant, distributed throughout the tropics of the world. The different alkaloids produced by this species are effective against various disorders like abdominal tumors, asthma, diarrhoea, epilepsy, eye infections and fever. Morphological characters including internode length, petiole length, leaf area and leaf index varied between these varieties. Cytological analysis revealed three diploid varieties with 2n=22 chromosomes (Wild type T. coronaria, T. coronaria var. Variegata, T. coronaria var. Dwarf) and a triploid variety with 3n=33 chromosomes (T. coronaria var. Florepleno). A variation was recorded in total chromosome length and volume among the diploid varieties of T. coronaria. Most of the centromeric chromosomes were either median or median region. The present study indicated that cryptic structural changes of chromosomes might be responsible in the evolution of different varieties of T. coronaria except the Flore-pleno variety. Moreover, differential condensation of chromosomes attributing to variable chromosome length and volume has been suggested. © 2015 The Japan Mendel Society.

Karyomorphological analysis of different varieties of Tabernaemontana coronaria

The species of Calathea of Marantaceae under Scitaminaceae are economically important as ornamental foliage plants. These are native of South America and distributed throughout the tropics. The plants are tuberous or rhizomatous and propagate mostly by vegetative means. In the present study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the genomic diversity of four different species of Calathea in relation to morphological and cytological characteristics as well as 4C nuclear DNA contents at the inter- and intra-specific levels. Differences were observed in morphological characters including petiole length, leaf area and ornamentation. These characters may serve as identifying parameters of individual species. Chromosome analysis has indicated the somatic chromosome number to range from 2n = 24 to 2n = 28 among these species. The species or varieties of Calathea having the same chromosome number differed in relation to chromosome types and number of chromosomes of individual type. The 4C nuclear DNA contents did not vary much and there was no direct correlation with the ploidy status of these species of Calathea. A variation was recorded among these species in total chromosome length. The chromosome length and volume also did not reveal any direct correlation with chromosome number, instead a consistency in difference of these two characters was noted. Differential coiling of the arm and the ratios of different protein components (histone and non-histone) in chromosome organization have been suggested to be responsible for such differences in chromosome length and volume respectively. It is suggested that cryptic structural alteration in chromosomes has played a role in speciation of this genus. © 2014, Archana Sharma Foundation of Calcutta.

Nucleus (India)

Genome analysis of species of Calathea utilizing chromosomal and nuclear DNA parameters

The genera Maranta and Calathea are mostly tropical American in origin, though widely cultivated throughout the tropical zone of the globe for ornamentation of leaves, excepting the arrowroot yielding species of Maranta. In India, because of wide cultivation, they are often located as wild in the forest, though apparently as dispersed forms from the cultivated types. The vegetative propagation of the species is profuse preferring comparatively shady conditions. Despite its economic value, and the fact that the almost absence of sexual reproduction provides ideal materials for the study of speciation, data on the structure and behaviour of chromosomes of the genera Calathea, Maranta and Stromanthe are rather meagre (Venkatasubban 1946, Simmonds 1954, Sharma and Bhattacharyya 1958, Sato 1960, Mahanty 1970, Mukhopadhyay and Sharma 1984, Sharma and Mukhopadhyay 1984). The available records indicate that there are aneuploid chromosome numbers in these genera, of which 11 has been considered as the deep seated number (Sharma and Bhattacharyya 1958). These eleven chromosomes are regarded as derivatives of a basic set of four chromosomes with a long antecedent period of evolution. In view of the scanty records on these genera as well as the scope of various approaches including the analysis of chromosome structure, the present study was undertaken. It includes the study of morphological and anatomical characters, along with a detailed analysis of the chromosomes, the range in chromosome length, volume and classification of the finer details at the microscopic level. The relationship of these features with the amount of nuclear DNA has earlier been reported (Sharma and Mukhopadhyay 1984). © 1987, Japan Mendel Society, International Society of Cytology. All rights reserved.

CYTOLOGIA

Karyomorphological Analysis of Different Species and Varieties of Calathea, Maranta and Stromanthe of Marantaceae

Chromosome analysis of seven species of Asparagus and four populations of A. racemosus has revealed that both polyploidy (20, 40, 60) and structural alterations have played a role in speciation of Asparagus associated with variation in sapogenin content. © 1985, Japan Mendel Society, International Society of Cytology. All rights reserved.

Chromosome Characteristics of Asparagusâ€”Sapogenin Yielding Plant

The present investigation deals with chromosome study of ten polyploid populations of Urginea indica Kunth representing triploids, tetraploids and hitherto unrecorded hexaploid. Different cytotypes frequently occur in the same climatic zone, but the constancy of the karyotype within the populations indicates certain adaptability to the microenvironmental condition to which they are subjected. The karyotype is highly asymmetrical both in size and morphology. There is no reduction in chromosome size along with polyploidy. The populations, however, differ with respect to minute karyotypic details. The role of structural alteration of chromosomes in the evolution of races is evident. Occurrence of large number of cytotypes both numerically and structurally altered as well as extensive vegetative reproduction has resulted in wide distribution of U. indica. © 1983, Japan Mendel Society, International Society of Cytology. All rights reserved.

Journal	Cytologia
Publisher	Japan Mendel Society
ISSN	0011-4545
Open Access	Yes