Abstract
Shrub birch (<em>Betula humilis </em>Schrk.) is endangered glacial relict growing in natural and drained fens and transitional mires. At present study we examined karyotypes of 103 individuals of <em>B. humilis</em>, collected in six populations from eastern and northeastern Poland. We found 60% of diploid individuals with 2n = 28. The rest of studied plants were aneuploids with 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31 chromosomes in their karyotypes. High frequencies of aneuploids in Polish populations of <em>B. humilis </em>could be a consequence of: (i) hybridization with congeneric species, (ii) stress resulting from range fragmentation, (iii) karyotype instability of individuals with 2n ≠ 28, or (iv) vegetative reproduction.
Highlights
Shrub birch Betula humilis Schrk. is a glacial relict growing in natural and drained fens and transitional mires, where it is sympatric with B. pendula Roth. and B. pubescens Ehrh
Method using the plant leaf meristems discovered by Anamthawat-Jónsson [6], allows to obtain the chromosome spreads of good quality
At present study the chromosome structure of six B. humilis populations located in Poland is described
Summary
Shrub birch Betula humilis Schrk. is a glacial relict growing in natural and drained fens and transitional mires, where it is sympatric with B. pendula Roth. and B. pubescens Ehrh. Is a glacial relict growing in natural and drained fens and transitional mires, where it is sympatric with B. pendula Roth. The species is endangered (EN category) in central Europe [1], very little is known about its genetic variation in Poland. Till chromosome analysis was conducted in one population in Germany only, where hybridization between B. humilis, B. pendula and B. pubescens was found [2]. B. humilis and B. pendula are diploids with 2n = 28, and B. pubescens is allotetraploid with 2n = 56. The aim of this study was to describe the chromosome structure in six Polish localities of the shrub birch
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