Studies on Cytogenetical Variation in Prosopis cineraria (Linn.) Druce – A Key Stone Tree Species of Indian Desert

Abstract

Prosopis cineraria (Mimosaceae) is an important tree of agro-forestry and ethano- botanical importance with multipurpose utility as wood yielding, fodder, food and medicinal uses. Some remarkable features are observed in the form of phenotypic variation in various populations inhabiting different regions of the Indian desert. To asses these variations male meiotic studies were conducted in ten different accessions collected from four proviences of Rajasthan, India. Analysis of data on chromosome associations, chiasma frequency and their distributions pattern concluded that the somatic chromosome number of P. cineraria is 2n = 2x = 28. The complete absence of accessory chromosomes (B) and percentage of pollen stainability indicates an over all genomic stability in P. cineraria. Numerical changes like aneuploidy might have played an important role in origin and adoptation of P. cineraria against all the odds of the climatic condition of the Indian desert.

Single primer amplification reaction (SPAR) reveals intra-specific natural variation in Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce

“…Subsequently, the distribution of the chromosomes of Anaphase I and Anaphase II was also not on the expected lines resulting in abnormal distribution of bivalents/ univalents in some PMCs (Rawat et al 2007). An important point to be noted here is that regardless of the normal/ abnormal cytogenetical behavior, the three accessions of sub-cluster A1 have shown the presence of innate variation at DNA level as revealed by SPAR analysis.…”

“…Of the three accessions under this cluster, two are from Barmer region and one from Jaisalmer region. In an earlier effort, attempts have been made to use morphological, biochemical and cytogenetical parameters to characterize them (Rawat et al 2007;Naranjo et al 1984). However, both the accessions (JNVU/RI/2005/5, JNVU/RI/2005/14) have shown normal meiosis with no indication of possible genetic variation (Rawat et al 2007).…”