Comparative study of zea karyotypes

Abstract

The taxa of genus Zea, maize and teosintes, have both intra and interspecific variation in its genome size, due to differences in heterochromatin content (Tito et al. Theor. App. Genet. 83:58-64, 1991; Poggio et al. Ann. J. Bot. 82:115-117, 1998). The heterochromatin mainly forms telomeric or subtelomeric blocks called knobs (Kato, Mass. Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 635: 1-185, 1976). A comparative analysis of the karyotypes of different taxa of genus Zea is presented. In addition, we studied the karyotype variation in the percent and location of heterochromatic regions, and discuss the inter and intrachromosomal asymmetry for each karyotype.