Characteristics and location of Hae III repetitive sequences family in Haemanthus (Scadoxus) katharinae (Amaryllidaceae).

A dispersed repetitive Hae III-family sequences in Haemanthus katharinae, a monocotyledonous diploid species with very large genome (2C DNA = 117 +/- 2.24 pg) were characterized. The restriction pattern is similar in different tissues and organs (root meristems, leaves and endosperm). This Hae III-family is represented by population of highly reiterated fragments whose average sizes were estimated to be: p6-167 bp, p7-183 bp, p39-400 bp and p44-501 bp. The above fragments constitute: p6 and p7 together 0.56% (3.26 x 10(5) copies), p39 1.62% (8.42 x 10(5) copies) and p44 0.28% (4.06 x 10(4) copies) of the haploid genome. There is no distinct homology among these fragments. p39 and p44 fragments are characterized by high AT content: 68.0% and 64.3%, respectively, while in p6 it reaches 51.5% and 52.4% in p7. Internal sequence organization in p39 fragment revealed a number of short direct repeats. p44 homologous sequences are located uniformly over the mitotic chromosomes and interphase nuclei.