Ophrys fusca and Ophrys dyris (Orchidaceae) – constancy of tetraploidy amongst populations in Central Portugal

Abreu, J. A., Hawkins, J. A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9048-8016, Cotrim, H., Fay, M. F., Hildago, O. and Pellicer, J. (2017) Ophrys fusca and Ophrys dyris (Orchidaceae) – constancy of tetraploidy amongst populations in Central Portugal. New Journal of Botany, 7 (2-3). pp. 94-100. ISSN 2042-3497 doi: 10.1080/20423489.2017.1408185

Abstract/Summary

Ophrys is amongst the best known orchid genera and is an established system for the study of pollinatormediated floral evolution. Two species, Ophrys fusca s.l. and Ophrys dyris (= O. omegaifera subsp. dyris) belonging to Ophrys section Pseudophrys are the focus of this study. In the context of an integrative study of morphological and genetic diversity of O. fusca and O. dyris, genome size (GS) and cytotype diversity were surveyed from Portuguese populations. Flow cytometry methods were used to assess GS, and subsequently determine the ploidy level of 67 specimens, including the species and putative hybrids. Cytotypes were also confirmed based on chromosome counts from the roots of two specimens, one of each species. Constancy of nuclear DNA content (1C = 11.19 pg) and ploidy level (2n =4x = 72, 74) was documented among all the individuals analysed. Implications are considered, in terms of interpreting the origin and predicting the persistence of putative hybrids.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/74633
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/20423489.2017.1408185
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
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