Evolutionary relationships between the diploid Turnera grandiflora and the octoploid T. fernandezii (Series Turnera, Turneraceae)

FERNÁNDEZ, A.; REY, H.; VIVIANA GRISELDA SOLIS NEFFA

Annales Botanici Fennici

Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board

Lugar: Helsinki; Año: 2010 vol. 47 p. 321 - 329

Aiming to analyze the evolutionary relationships between the diploid species Turnera grandiflora (2n= 2x= 10) and the octoploid T. fernandezii (2n= 8x= 40), interspecific hybrids were recovered by in vitro embryo rescue methods. The full grown plants obtained were all pentaploids (2n= 5x= 25) confirming their hybrid nature. The chromosome associations observed in the hybrids during meiosis were indicative for an autopentaploid, suggesting that T. fernandezii carries the genome of T. grandiflora (CgCg) but at the octoploid level (CgCg CgCg CgCg CgCg). This fact confirms the close evolutionary relationship between both species and supports the hypothesis that T. grandiflora is the progenitor of T. fernandezii. A tentative hypothesis regarding the autopolyploid origin of T. fernandezii is finally formulated.