Karyotype variation in 4 species of Poa L.

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Eighteen species of Poa grow in Iran. Several introduced species of Poa are economically important. The species are commonly cultivated for lawns and pasture, and are a major forage species. In addition, they are widely planted for soil stablization and forage. Cytogenetic studies are very important for the aim of genetic improvement. Therefore, quantifying interspecies chromosome variation can provide important information for plant breeders. In order to study cytogenetic characteristics of Poa L., karyotypes of 4 species were analyzed using image analysis system. The basic chromosome number was x=7 for all of the studied species. But their ploidy levels varied indicating chromosome variation among the studied species. Variance analysis showed significant differences (PPoa strilis and Poa pratensis, for long arm, short arm and total length between Poa strilis and Poa angustifolia and for short arm length between Poa araratica and Poa angustifolia.

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