Does actually mean chromosome number increase with latitude in vascular plants? An answer from the comparison of Italian, Slovak and Polish floras

By

Peruzzi, Lorenzo
Góralski, Grzegorz
Joachimiak, Andrzej
Bedini, Gianni

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2012

Original Publication

Comparative cytogenetics : international journal of plant & animal cytogenetics, karyosystematics and molecular systematics

Volume

6

Series / Issue

Issue: 4

Pages

371-377

Subjects

Biogeography , chromosome number , cytogeography , cytotaxonomy , Europe , polyploidy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

St. Petersburg, Russia [Published] with technical support of Zoological Institute RAS [2007]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/compcytogen.v6i4.3955

 

Abstract

We compared chromosome number (CN) variation among vascular floras of three different countries with increasing latitude in the Boreal hemisphere: Italy, Slovakia, Poland. Aim of the study was to verify whether the patterns of CN variation parallel the differences in latitudinal ranges. The three datasets comprised 3426 (Italy), 3493 (Slovakia) and 1870 (Poland) distinct cytotypes. Standard statistics (ANOVA, Kruskal–Wallis tests) evidenced significant differences among the three countries, mean CN increasing together with latitude. On the contrary, an inverse relation (r = -1) was evidenced among the frequency of odd CNs and latitude. Our results show that the hypothesis of a polyploid increase proportional with distance from the Equator seems to be confirmed, when territories from the same hemisphere are compared.