Comparative karyomorphological studies of three edible locally important species of Allium from India

Abstract

Karyomorphological studies of three locally important species of Allium, namely, A. tuberosum, A. chinense and A. schoenoprasum, were performed to highlight the chromosomal variations between them, despite the fact that all of them are known as “chives” in commerce, due to their overall morphological similarities. Only critical morphological analyses reveal several important phenotypic dissimilarities between the three species. Karyomorphological investigations show that A. tuberosum and A. chinense are both 2n = 32, and A. schoenoprasum is 2n = 16. A. chinense has maximum karyotype symmetry among the three, and most of its chromosomes are of either median or submedian types. The karyotype of A. tuberosum is characterized by the presence of different types of secondary constrictions, while A. schoenoprasum, apart from showing the maximum karyotype asymmetry among the three, also reveals the presence of at least one pair of acrocentric chromosomes.