1Key Laboratory of Bio-geography and Biological Resources in Arid Region, Xinjiang Institute of Ecological and Geography, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, People's Republic of China
2Turpan Eremophytes Botanical Garden, Xinjiang Institute of Ecological and Geography, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Turpan, People's Republic of China
3Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, P. R. China
*Corresponding author E-mail: sgulnur@sina.cn
Online published on 20 May, 2014.
Nuclear DNA content (2C) of 12 species, covering four sections of Calligonum genus in Xinjiang of China was estimated using flow cytometry. It was found that 2C nuclear DNA amounts of the species investigated range from 0.85 pg (C. cancellatum) to 3.02 pg (C. junceum), a 3.55-fold difference. This implies that the largest genome contains roughly 2.09×109 more base pairs than the smallest genome. There was no correlation between genome size (Nuclear DNA content (2C)) and the ploidy level of this genus but genome size per basic chromosome set decreases with polyploidy level. Genome size together with previous data using morphological traits will provide additional information useful for taxonomic decision-making of this genus.
Calligonum L, DNA content, Flow cytometry, Genome size, Taxonomy
