THE EUCALYPT KARYOGRAM RESOLVED

The genus Eucalyptus is the most cytologically studied group of plants in the family Myrtaceae. Despite the ecological and economic importance of this genus much of its biology remains poorly understood. Cytological methods are useful in evolutionary studies, however, karyomorphological descriptions of the Eucalyptus species are limited. In the present study, we developed a cytogenetic methodology that facilitates karyogram assembly and chromosome classification of Eucalyptus citriodora. The protocol includes treatment of root tips with amiprophos-methyl in Hoagland’s solution, slide preparation by cell dissociation, and an air-drying technique. Using this method, well-resolved metaphasic chromosomes with different compaction levels were obtained. A chromosome number of 2n = 22 was confirmed. On the basis of metaphasic chromosomes with limited condensation, E. citriodora showed six metacentric and four submetacentric chromosomes, and one submetacentric chromosome with a nucleolus organizer region (NOR). Thus, the informative chromosomes obtained in the present study has enabled the most precise karyotype description of a Eucalyptus species, to date.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author