Aegilops Crassa Cytotypes in Some Regions of Türkiye

Abstract

A new hexaploid cytotype of Aegilops crassa has been identified in T & uuml;rkiye. To assess the ploidy levels of native populations, 50 samples from Ad & imath;yaman, Batman, Bitlis, Diyarbak & imath;r, Hakkari, Mardin, Siirt, & Scedil;anl & imath;urfa, & Scedil;& imath;rnak, and Van were analyzed using flow cytometry and cytogenetic techniques. DNA content was determined by comparison with standard plants. Results confirmed two cytotypes in T & uuml;rkiye: tetraploid populations from Batman, Bitlis, Diyarbak & imath;r, Hakkari, Mardin, Siirt, & Scedil;anl & imath;urfa, and & Scedil;& imath;rnak, and hexaploid accessions from Ad & imath;yaman and Van. Ten metaphase plates were analyzed. The tetraploid cytotype exhibited chromosome lengths of 8.95 +/- 0.27 to 13.96 +/- 0.13 mu m, a total genome length of 165.51 +/- 0.34 mu m, and nuclear DNA content of 18.53 +/- 0.29 to 20.37 +/- 0.49 pg. Most chromosomes were metacentric, except for chromosomes 7, 8, 10, and 12, which were submetacentric. Two satellite pairs were found on chromosomes 4 and 10. The hexaploid cytotype showed chromosome lengths of 8.90 +/- 0.16 to 14.06 +/- 0.06 mu m, a total genome length of 230.47 +/- 0.23 mu m, and nuclear DNA content of 33.40 +/- 0.52 to 35.01 +/- 0.31 pg. Most chromosomes were also metacentric, with three satellite pairs on chromosomes 3, 6, and 10. In conclusion, both tetraploid (2n = 2x = 28) and hexaploid (2n = 6x = 42) cytotypes of Ae. crassa exist in T & uuml;rkiye, with the hexaploid cytotype having potential for wheat breeding programs.