RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LATHYRUS CASSIUS, LODORATUS, AND LHIRSUTUS ASSESSED BY EXPERIMENTAL HYBRIDIZATION, ANALYSIS OF MEIOTIC PAIRING, AND DNA DNA HYBRIDIZATION
Bg. Murray et al., RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LATHYRUS CASSIUS, LODORATUS, AND LHIRSUTUS ASSESSED BY EXPERIMENTAL HYBRIDIZATION, ANALYSIS OF MEIOTIC PAIRING, AND DNA DNA HYBRIDIZATION, International journal of plant sciences, 154(1), 1993, pp. 163-168
Relationships between three species of Lathyrus, including L. cassius,
L. hirsutus, and L. odoratus, were studied with hybridization, cytoge
netic analyses, and DNA dot blots. Broadly similar results were obtain
ed with these methods, showing that L. cassius, L. hirsutus, and L. od
oratus are all closely related, with L. odoratus more closely related
to L. hirsutus than L. cassius. Hybrids were formed between the three
species, but only those between L. odoratus and L. hirsutus show high
levels of fertility and more or less regular chromosome pairing at mei
osis. Despite having similar karyotypes, L. cassius had large centrome
ric C-bands that are absent from L. hirsutus and L. odoratus. DNA dot
blots showed that the three genomes were equally different from each o
ther. Reciprocal differences in flower morphology and metaphase I chro
mosome pairing were seen in hybrids between L. cassius and L. hirsutus
. A modification of the most recent systematic placement of the specie
s is suggested so that L. hirsutus is allied with L. cassius and L. od
oratus with L. chloranthus.