Molecular phylogeny and chromosome evolution among the creeping herbaceous Oxalis species of sections Corniculatae and Ripariae (Oxalidaceae).

Oxalis sections Corniculatae DC. and Ripariae Lourteig are composed mainly of creeping herbs. They not only share strong morphological similarities, such as the presence of a reptant stem but also some cytogenetic characteristics. Several species in section Corniculatae share a base chromosome number x=5 with species in section Ripariae, while other species in the former have a x=6. We used a molecular and cytogenetic approach to determine the phylogenetic relationships, test the previous taxonomic classification and study the genome rearrangements that led to the differences in chromosome size and basic chromosome number between both sections. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred based on DNA sequences from chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal ITS. The molecular phylogenetic analyses found that neither of the sections are monophyletic, but do support two clades. The first group contains diploid species with x=5, large chromosomes and high DNA content and the second diploid and polyploidy species with x=6, small chromosomes and low DNA content. The x=5 clade comprises species of both sections, while the x=6 clade was formed mainly by section Corniculatae species and O. serpens from section Ripariae. Our results suggest that x=5 and high DNA content are derived conditions, which may have resulted from descendent disploidy and proliferation of transposable elements. Thus, cytogenetic data superimposed on the phylogeny have shown two different modes of chromosome evolution in both lineages: (1) chromosome rearrangements and increase in genome size in the x=5 lineage and (2) polyploidy playing the main role in chromosome evolution among species in the x=6 species. A taxonomic revision for the two sections is suggested.

Karyological Features of Achyrocline (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae): stable karyotypes, low DNA content variation and linkage of rRNA genes.

Many Achyrocline (Asteraceae, tribe Gnaphalieae) species are widely used in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay as popular medicinal and aromatic plants. Achyrocline flaccida, A. satureioides, A. alata, and A. crassiuscula are distributed in Uruguay and popularly known as 'marcelas'. In order to characterize them, we performed chromosome counts, compared the karyotypes, mapped the 5S and 45S rDNA sites by fluorescent in situ hybridization, and estimated their DNA content. All species were diploid with 2n = 28 chromosomes, this being the first report for A. flaccida and A. crassiuscula. All species showed symmetrical karyotypes composed exclusively of biarmed chromosomes. DNA content estimated by flow cytometry revealed 2C values ranging from 5.73 to 6.03 pg, the amounts for A. alata and A. crassiuscula being higher than those for the other species. Cytogenetic mapping of 5S and 45S rDNA sequences in three species, A. flaccida, A. satureioides and A. alata, showed that in these species both sites co-localized in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 10. This site corresponds to the only DAPI(-) and CMA(+) band of their genomes. Southern blot hybridization of 5S and 45S rDNA on BamHI digested genomic DNA confirmed the tight linkage of these rDNA families into a single unit. Cytological data indicate that Achyrocline species are karyologically poorly differentiated, whereas the uncommon distribution of 5S and 45S rDNA suggests a close relationship with other genera of the Anthemidae tribe.