PLOIDY DETERMINATION OF AEGILOPS CYLINDRICA HOST ACCESSIONS OF IRAN BY USING FLOW CYTOMETRY AND CHROMOSOME COUNTING

Chromosomes counting and flow cytometry method were used for assessing the ploidy level of various Aegilops cylindrica Host (2n=4x=28, CCDD) accessions of the National Plant Gene Bank of Iran (NPGBI). About 100 different accessions of Ae. cylindrica were estimated in flow cytometry analysis by using Ae. tauschii as a control sample. All the studied accessions fitted in 4x ploidy level. Chromosomes counts and flow cytometry data led to the same results. There was significant diversity in DNA index among Ae. cylindrica accessions. Cluster analysis was used for the classification of Ae. cylindrica based on their DNA content. Interestingly, accessions with smaller and larger DNA index had smaller and larger chromosome length, respectively. Also, the study of the relationship of DNA content and geographical distribution in Iran showed that there is diversity in DNA content of Ae. cylindrica for different areas of Iran.