Karyotype Analysis of the Fiddleneck (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.)

Abstract

Two varieties of fiddleneck (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) plant were determined for visualizing somatic chromosomes. The 4-5 days old root tips were pre-treated in 6% α-monobromonaphtalane in +4 °C for 7.5 h, then fixed in glacial acetic acid for 30 min and transferred to 70% ethanol for long storage. When the root tips were analyzed, they were hydrolyzed with 1 N HCl for 13 min at room temperature (25 °C). After hydrolyzing, root tips were stained with 2% aceto orcein in darkness for 2.5 h. The squash method for preparation was used for chromosomal investigations. The chromosome length (C), relative length (RL), the long arm (L) and short arm (S) lengths, arm ratio (AR; L/S) and centromeric index (S/C) were calculated for caryologic parameters. The ideograms and detailed chromosome morphology measurements of the species were performed by the use of MicroMeasure 3.3. According to results, fiddleneck (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) has 2n = 22 chromosomes and the karyotype formulas of two varieties of fiddleneck were 16 median and 6 submedian (16 m + 6 sm).