A cytogenetic study of the functionally dioecious species in the genus Lycium (Solanaceae)

A cytogenetic study of five species of Lycium and an interspecific hybrid from southern Africa, is presented. All these taxa have a basic chromosome number of 12. This is the first report on chromosome numbers for L. arenicolum (hexaploid), L. horridum (tetraploid), L. tetrandrum (hexaploid) and L. villosum (tetraploid). Various meiotic abnormalities were observed, such as univalents, laggards during anaphase I, micronuclei during telophases I and II, and anaphase bridges. Cell fusion occurs frequently in the studied species, with apparently no effect on ploidy levels within them. The abnormalities observed in L. arenicolum indicate a lack of chromosome homology and, therefore, suggest a hybrid origin for this species