Karyotypes of some species of Cestrum, Sessea, and Vestia (tribe Cestreae, Solanaceae)

LAS PENAS M. LAURA, FRANCO E. CHIARINI, GABRIEL BERNARDELLO AND CARMEN BENÍTEZ

CARYOLOGIA

Año: 2006 vol. 59 p. 131 - 137

0008-7114

The somatic chromosomes of Cestrum bigibbosum Pittier, C. buxifolium Kunth, Sessea corymbosa Goudot ex Taylor and Phillips and Vestia foetida (Ruiz et Pav.) Hoffmanns. were examined by classical staining. The number 2n = 2x = 16 was found for all species. The total genome length ranged from 57.70 to 92.09 µm and the averagechromosome length from 7.21 to 11.51 µm. Karyotypes were notably symmetrical. Haploid karyotype formulaewere 8 m pairs (C. bigibbosum, V. foetida) or 7 m + 1 smpairs (S. corymbiflora, C. buxifolium). Except Sessea corymbiflora  in which satellites were not visualized, the remaining species showed one satellited pair. The species can be distinguished by a combination of karyotype formula, karyotype length, and the position of satellites in a particularchromosome pair. Karyotype diversification in tribe Cestreae is suggested to have been accompanied by a tendencytowards slight asymmetry and increased genome length.