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Meiotic behavior and pollen morphology variation in Centaurium pulchellum (Gentianaceae)

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Abstract

Centaurium pulchellum is an annual herb native to Europe, but introduced in South America, where it is widely used in the preparation of digestive infusions and bitter drinks. In this species, a wide variation in the aperture pattern of pollen grains was reported and has been attributed to environmental factors or irregularities at meiosis. For this reason, cytological and palynological studies have been undertaken on two different populations. The pollen grain analysis showed that some types are more frequent within each population, but the most common forms were the typical 3-colporate and 4-colporate. The cytological analysis revealed that the analyzed populations of C. pulchellum have chromosome number 2n = 36. The presence of tetravalents at meiosis strongly suggests that these populations are autotetraploid based on x = 9. The meiotic behavior showed a significant percentage of irregularities in different phases: off-plate bivalents, precocious segregation, laggard chromosomes, bridges, and cytomixis. However these irregularities are not related to the variation in the aperture pattern of pollen grains. The heteromorphism in the pollen grains observed in C. pulchellum could be a normal condition to which the species is well adapted.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by grants from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and the Secretaría General de Ciencia y Técnica of the Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, which are greatly appreciated.

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  1. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste (UNNE-CONICET), Casilla de Correo 209, CP 3400, Corrientes, Argentina

    Gisela M. Via do Pico & Massimiliano Dematteis

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  1. Gisela M. Via do Pico
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  2. Massimiliano Dematteis
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Correspondence to Massimiliano Dematteis.

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Via do Pico, G.M., Dematteis, M. Meiotic behavior and pollen morphology variation in Centaurium pulchellum (Gentianaceae). Plant Syst Evol 290, 99–108 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-010-0352-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-010-0352-8

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