Karyotype analysis in Hyacinthella dalmatica (Hyacinthaceae) reveals vertebrate-type telomere repeats at the chromosome ends

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Abstract
Chromosome analysis of three different populations of Hyacinthella dalmatica (Lallem.) Trinajstić, an endemic species of the coastal region of southeastern Europe, showed a unique chromosome number, 2n = 2x = 20, and bimodal karyotype with one large and nine smaller pairs of chromosomes. Staining with fluorochromes CMA3 (chromomycin A3) and DAPI (4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) revealed heterochromatic regions associated with NORs, centromeres, and several interstitial heterochromatic bands on the longest chromosome pair. Double-target FISH with two ribosomal DNA probes revealed one locus of 5S rRNA genes in the pericentromeric region of chromosome pair 3 and one locus of 18S-5.8S-26S rRNA genes on the short arm of chromosome pair 4 in all plants and populations analyzed. Southern hybridization analysis and FISH experiments demonstrated that the distal ends of H. dalmatica chromosomes contain the vertebrate telomere (5'-TTAGGG-3') repeat type rather than the Arabidopsis (5'-TTTAGGG-3') heptamer, and so suggest that this Asparagales species along with Aloe and Othocallis contains the vertebrate-type telomere repeat.