Abstract
The diploid Emila sonchifolia (2n = 10) and the tetraploid E. fosbergii (2n = 20) species are widely distributed throughout tropical and subtropical America, and are the only two Emilia species occurring in Brazil. Emilia fosbergii displays two sets of ten chromosomes, one slightly larger than the other. The smaller chromosome set is similar to the chromosome complement of the diploid, which agrees with the suggested participation of E. sonchifolia in the formation of E. fosbergii. To elucidate this hypothesis, the relationship between the genomes of the two species was investigated using chromomycin A3 (CMA)/4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) double staining, distribution of 5S and 45S rDNA sites by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and whole genome comparison by genomic in situ hybridization (GISH). CMA/DAPI staining and FISH revealed the occurrence of one pair of CMA bands in E. sonchifolia and three pairs in E. fosbergii, all of them co-localized with 45S rDNA sites. Additionally, E. fosbergii displayed a fourth, small 45S rDNA site in its larger subgenome which was not detected as CMA band. Surprisingly, the euchromatin of the smaller subgenome of E. fosbergii stained less intensely with CMA than the larger one. The GISH procedure demonstrated the similarity between the genome of E. sonchifolia and the smaller chromosome set of E. fosbergii. GISH and CMA staining clearly demonstrate that E. fosbergii is an allotetraploid species and suggest E. sonchifolia as one of its ancestors. The maintenance of at least one pair of 5S and 45S rDNA sites per subgenome of E. fosbergii and the differentiation between its subgenomes by CMA staining seem to indicate that post-polyploidization changes are still incipient, probably because the polyploidization event and the origin of E. fosbergii were relatively recent.
Published Version
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