Chromosome numbers of 28 taxa in 10 genera of the Ranunculaceae (buttercup family) from the Korean peninsula

Abstract

Somatic chromosome numbers of 28 Korean native species in the buttercup family are observed and analyzed. The plants include 10 genera with seven endemic taxa to the Korean peninsula, and most of them are the first reports from Korean populations. In particular, the chromosome numbers for the two taxa are reported for the first time: Clematis fusca var. coreana (H. Lév) Nakai (2n = 16) and Thalictrum aquilegiifolium var. sibiricum Regel & Tiling (2n = 42). The Ranunculus type chromosomes (R-type, c.3-12 μm long) are found in Megaleranthis, Actaea, Cimicifuga, Anemone, Clematis, Hepatica, and Ranunculus, whereas Aquilegia and Ranunculus have the Thalictrum type chromosomes (T-type, c.1-1.5 μm long). The two types of chromosomes in Ranunculus, one of the species-rich genera in the family (c.600 species worldwide), suggest that chromosomal differentiation plays an important role in species diversification in the genus. Evaluation of cytogenetic features in a phylogenetic frame is suggested for a better understanding of the evolutionary history of the family.

Natural Hybrid Origin of the Controversial “Species” Clematis × pinnata (Ranunculaceae) Based on Multidisciplinary Evidence

“…However, their morphological features are quite different ( (Wang, 2001), which was also a misleading character in previous taxonomic treatments (Fang, 1980;Ting, 1980;Wang and Xie, 2007). Fore the four taxa, chromosome number of C. brevicaudata and C. heracleifolia have been reported to be diploid (2n = 2x = 16) (Gong et al, 1985;Zhang and He, 1990;Chung et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2017).…”

Genetic Diversity and Relatedness Among Six Ranunculus Species Unraveled by SRAP Markers

“…R. cantoniensis, R. quelpaertensis, and R. ternatus) or x=7 (e.g. R. crucilobus, R. japonicus, and R. sceleratus) (Chung et al, 2013). Considering the two potential basic chromosome numbers, aneuploidy might have played an important role for lineage diversification in the genus.…”

Online resources for chromosome number databases

“…Knowledge of CNs in plants is continuously increasing: just in the last year, several studies were published with massive CN data (Chung et al 2013;Dolatyari et al 2013;Kaplan et al 2013;Krahulcova et al 2013;Kuo 2013;Malik and Gupta 2013;Moyetta et al 2013;Ranjbar and Mahmoudi 2013;Wang et al 2013;Zaveska Drabkova 2013;Correia-da-Silva et al 2014;Rani, Jeelani, et al 2014;. The direct insertion of such data in online and constantly updated databases would much benefit the scientific community.…”