DNA content and chromosome evolution in the shrubby Oxalis

Abstract

The amount of DNA varies widely in 20 shrubby Oxalis species analyzed, ranging from 1.76 pg in O. alstonii to 33.00 pg in O. dispar. This wide variation in DNA content coincided with a wide variation in chromosome size and shape. Numerical taxonomy methods showed that this variation in chromosome size and shape in shrubby Oxalis is mainly due to extra DNA. It was also possible to arrange the 20 species examined in six different groups on the basis of karyotypic similarities.Key words: Oxalis, DNA content, chromosome evolution, multivariate analysis.