Polyploidy and B chromosomes in Alium flavum from Serbia

Abstract

The most intriguing karyological features of the genus Allium are polyploidy and the frequent appearance of supernumerary or B chromosomes (Bs). Specimens of Allium flavum from natural populations at the Gornjačka Gorge in the vicinity of Gornjak Monastery, Serbia, were analyzed karyologically. All studied plants were tetraploid (2n = 32). One submetacentric B chromosome representing 1% of the genome, smaller than the smallest chromosomes of the standard set, was present in some plants. This is the first finding of Bs in tetraploid A. flavum.