Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR
We are Discovering the Plant World

Häkkinen, M.; Suchánková, Pavla; Doleželová, Marie; Hřibová, Eva; Doležel, Jaroslav
ACTA PHYTOTAXONOMICA ET GEOBOTANICA 58 [2/3]: 112-118, 2007

Keywords: Callimusa; chromosome number; flow cytometry
Abstract: The center of diversity of the genus Musa (Musaceae) is in Southeast Asia, a region not studied in detail and where new species and varieties continue to be reported. Recently, a new variety, Musa beccarii var. hottana was described. To improve its characterization, the chromosome number and genome size of varieties hottana and beccarii were analyzed. Variety hottana had a diploid number of 2n = 18, the same as var. beccarii. This is an interesting finding, as other species of Musa section Callimusa, in which M. beccarii has traditionally been included, have 2n = 20. Nuclear DNA amounts (2C) of var. beccarii and var. hottana were estimated to be 1.562pg and 1.645 pg, respectively. These are the largest genome sizes reported so far in Musa. The analysis of the genome structure of M. beccarii may contribute to an understanding of the processes at the DNA and chromosomal levels that accompanied the evolution in the genus Musa. IEB authors: Jaroslav Doležel, Marie Doleželová, Eva Hřibová, Pavla Suchánková