ABSTRACT. Two molecular cytological phenomena such as NOR and/rDNA loci in the chromosome complement of Scilla scilloides were observed by in situ hybridization using rDNA probe. Most of the plants of the species collected in Shaanxi Province, the People's Republic of China were diploid of genome A that was characterized by a pair of satellited a 2 chromosomes carrying heavy rDNA signal at the secondary constriction comprising of constricted region and its adjacent chromosome arms at metaphase. At interphase the rDNA signals dispersed in the nucleolus with condensed signal body at terminal end. A plant of AA diploid showed that rDNA signal of one a 2 chromosome condensed through the cycle of respective division, whereas that of another a 2 chromosome showed the normal behavior. Another phenomenon occurred frequently in small B-chromosomes in S. scilloides. The diploid and tetraploid plants of the genome B collected in Jiangsu had several small B-chromosomes carrying condensed rDNA signal in addition to b 1 chromosomes with heavy rDNA signal at metaphase and interphase, suggesting rDNA of small B-chromosomes did not involve to nucleolus organization. Scilla scilloides is a complex species involving such two genomes as the genome A (x=8) and the genome B (x=9). The karyotype of each genome is revealed, and their polyploids and/or hybrids between two genomes are recognized by Araki (1971) and Haga and Noda (1976). Then, four different research approaches were performed in S. scilloides such as by respective scientists for genomic constitution of population (Araki 1972a, Ding et al. 1999, by cytogenetic analysis (Araki 1971), by cytogeographic studies in Japan (Ihara 1977), in Korea (Araki 1972b, 1985Choi and Bang 1990;Choi et al. 2004 ), and in China (Yu and Araki 1991;Yu et al. 1993;Ding et al. 1998) and by molecular cytogenetic analyses (Hizume et al. 1993; Araki 1994, 1996;Hizume and Shibata 2001;Choi et al. 2008). Two genomes are different not only in chromosome number and karyotype, but also in genomic DNA level, revealed clearly by genomic in situ hybridization (Hizume and Araki 1996). Then, S. scilloides is useful to study genome differentiation, because they have differences between A and B genomes in genome structure/karyotype and their genomic DNA differentiation. In the present study two phenomena concerning rDNA loci/NORs by in situ hybridization (ISH) using rDNA probe are described for the first time. Ding et al. (1998). Plants were raveled and cultivated in pots and maintained in the experimental garden of Ehime University. Root tips were collected and treated in 2mM 8-hydroxiquinoline for 3h. Then, they were fixed in acetic-ethanol (1:3, volume ratio) and used immediately for observation or stored in a deep freezer until use.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty plants of Scilla scilloidesThe fixed root tips were soaked in 45% acetic acid for 5 min, treated in 45% acetic acid at 60°C for 8 min and transferred in cold 45% acetic acid. Then, they were squashed in 45% acetic acid under cover slips on...