Characterization of ploidy levels in Chrysanthemum L. by flow cytometry

Analyzing the ploidy levels of plants is important for identifying species, selecting parental lines, identifying the relationships between species, and determining evolutionary patterns. The genus Chrysanthemum is widely distributed throughout the world and exhibits different ploidy levels. We used flow cytometry to analyze the ploidy levels of nine species of Chrysanthemum L. collected from different regions and geographical locations in China. Three diploids from Henan and Wuhan provinces corresponded to Chrysanthe- mum lavandulifolium and two species of C. nankingense, while three tetraploids from various regions corresponded to C. indicum and two species of C. chanetii. Two hexaploids corresponding to C. vestitum were collected at Funiu moun- tain （Henan province）, and C. zawadskii was collected at Huangshan mountain （Anhui province）. We found that OTTO extraction buffer was suitable for extracting nuclei from most species, apart from C. zawadskii. Flow cytometry proved to bea simple, rapid, and highly accurate method for identifying ploidy levels in Chrysanthemum species.

Study on the Relationship Between the Ploidy Level of Microspore-Derived Plants and the Number of Chloroplast in Stomatal Guard Cells in Brassica oleracea

The relationship between the ploidy level of microspore-derived plants and chloroplast number in stomatal guard cells was studied in cabbage, broccoli, and Chinese kale. In the experiment, distribution statistics analysis and t-test were used to perform statistical analysis on chloroplast number of different ploidy level in those stomatal guard cells mentioned above, and morphology identifying and chromosome counting were used to test accuracy of counting chloroplast number in stomatal guard cells. The chloroplast average number in stomatal guard cells was very similar among the different leaf positions on the same plant and among significantly among the different ploidy the different locations in the same stoma in the same variety. All the leaf, while the chloroplast number varied distributions of the chloroplast number in different ploidy stoma were normal distribution fitted. A correlation has been established between ploidy and chloroplast number in the stomatal guard cells. In every single stoma of microspore-derived plants, the chloroplast number for a haploid should not be more than 10, diploids 11 to 15, and polyploids more than 15. The accuracy of this method for identification of different ploidy plants was 93.93%. Furthermore, the accuracy of this method was reliable and did not vary with the plants growth conditions. Therefore, the chromosome ploidy of plants derived from microspore culture in cabbage, broccoli, and Chinese kale can be identified by simply counting the chloroplast number in stomatal guard cells.