Turco Alessio, Medagli Pietro, Albano Antonella, D'Emerico Saverio
Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of the Salento, Via prov.le Lecce-Monteroni 6, Lecce, Italy.
Dept. of Plant Biology, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Via Orabona 4, Bari, Italy.
Comp Cytogenet. 2014 Mar 11;8(1):71-80. doi: 10.3897/CompCytogen.v8i1.6444. eCollection 2014.
In this study three polyploid Arum Linnaeus, 1753 species from Southern Italy were chromosomally investigated. Arum italicum Miller, 1768 was found to have 2n = 84 chromosomes and a karyotype composed of numerous asymmetric chromosomes. Arum maculatum Linnaeus, 1753 and Arum apulum (Carano) P. C. Boyce, 1993 were found to have 2n = 56 chromosomes. In the examined taxa some chromosome pairs were characterized by the presence of weakly coloured Feulgen-stained segments. The karyotype morphology of Arum italicum was found to be similar to that of Arum maculatum, but the more asymmetrical karyotype and numerous weakly coloured Feulgen-stained segments observed in the former suggest the existence of more extensive rearrangements. In contrast, Arum apulum was observed to have a symmetrical karyotype. The A1, A2 and SYi karyotype asymmetry indices are presented. The relationships between these taxa in terms of karyotype morphology and evolution are discussed.
