Cytological Studies on the Cultivars ofCicer ArietinumL. From Pakistan

Abstract

SUMMARYSeeds of three cultivars, CSIMF, C612 and F10, of Cicer arietinum were obtained from the Agricultural University, Lyallpur, Pakistan. All the varieties have 2n = 16, with a single pair of satellited chromosomes. Chromosome counts reported for other varieties in the literature are discussed. In F10, the knob-like satellites have the tendency to stick together at mitotic anaphase, forming bridges. However, these bridges are not permanent, and are retracted into two daughter groups at late anaphase leaving no fragment behind. No apparent morphological difference in the mitotic chromosomes of the three varieties can bee seen. However, there are detectable slight differences between the varieties, in the lengths of chromosomes, their arm ratios, and total chromosome length. All chromosomes have median or submedian centromeres. The nucleolar-organising chromosomes have a long subterminal nucleolar-organising region and prominent satellites. In meiosis all varieties show very difficult diplotene and diakinetic stages, which have proved impossible to fix, stain or interpret, but again, as in mitosis, the variety F10 is characterised by bridges observable at anaphase I and II. No such bridges were observed in the other varieties.It is suggested that the varieties differ from each other by small chromosome structural changes; a view borne out by the finding of small but significant differences in DNA amounts (AHMAD 1978).