Comparative genome analysis in two flax species by C-banding patterns

C-banding patterns of the karyotypes of two closely related wild flax speci es, Linum austriacum L. (2n = 18) and Linum grandiflorum Desf. (2n = 16), w ere studied. The karyotypes of both species were similar in the chromosome morphology and size. In each species, metacentric and acrocentric chromosom es (1.7-4.3 mum) and one satellite chromosome were observed. In the karyoty pes of the species studied, all homologous chromosome pairs were identified , and quantitative idiograms were constructed. Eight chromosome pairs in th e two species had similar C-banding patterns. A low level of intraspecific polymorphism in the intercalary and telomeric C-bands was shown in both spe cies. The results indicate that the genomes of two flax species originated from one ancestral genome with the basic chromosome number of 8 or 9. Appar ently, the duplication or loss of one chromosome with subsequent redistribu tion of the chromosome material in the ancestral form resulted in the diver gence into two species, L. austriacum L. and L. grandiflorum Desf. A consid erable similarity of chromosomes in these species provides evidence for the ir close phylogenetic relatedness, which makes it possible to place them in one section within the Linum genus.