Karyotype Variation of Honckenya peploides on the Island of Surtsey

Abstract

In this study chromosome numbers of several individuals of Honckenya peploides from Surtsey and other locations across the northern hemisphere were obtained. Metaphase chromosomes were extracted from meristem tissue in root tips, stained with a fluorochrome and counted from photos that were taken at 1000x magnification. Some plants from this study displayed the formerly recorded somatic chromosome number of 2n = 68, while many specimens appeared to have lower chromosome numbers. This would indicate the presence of lower ploidys within the species, which seems possible and likely for a pioneer plant, with great dispersal abilities and genetic variety, such as H. peploides.

Í þessari rannsókn var samansafnað fjölmörgum eintökum af tegundinni Honckenya peploides frá Surtsey og hlutum norðurheimskautsins og litningar þeirra taldir. Metafasa litningar voru teknir úr meristem vef úr rótarendum, litaðir í flúorkrómi og myndir teknar í 1000x stækkun. Sumar plöntur voru með litningatöluna 2n=68, en margar plöntur voru með færri litninga. Þetta myndi benda til lægri ploidya í tegundinni, og þetta er líklegt fyrir frumkvöðlaplöntu eins og H. peploites vegna þess hve auðveldlega plantan dreifist og hefur einnig auðugt genamengi.