First cytogenetic investigation in populations of Acacia heterophylla, endemic from La Réunion island, with reference to A. melanoxylon

Abstract

Five populations of tetraploid Acacia heterophylla, endemic from La Réunion island, were compared together and with their Australian diploid relative A. melanoxylon for cytogenetic and DNA characteristics. A. melanoxylon (2n = 26) had 1·59 pg nuclear DNA; A. heterophylla (2n = 4x = 52) had double this value (3·19 pg), and there was no difference between populations within species. Both species had 39 % GC. Interchromosome connections were evident at metaphase and mitotic irregularities at anaphase were twice as frequent in A. heterophylla as in A. melanoxylon, again with no difference between populations within species. These results argue for a recent autotetraploid origin of A. heterophylla from A. melanoxylon. Yet, fluorochrome banding showed that in some A. heterophylla populations, GC-rich bands had slightly changed from the supposed ancestral pattern, probably by means of translocations involving parts of nuclear organizer areas. No clear relation was found between banding patterns and ecological factors.