Chromosome numbers of some native Iranian plants

Summary . Chromosome numbers of 11 native species from five families (Apiaceae


Introduction
Our project is "Determination of chromosome numbers and ploidy levels in plant species of Iranian Flora".This paper presents the results of studying chromosome number of 11 native Iranian species.Chromosomal characters play an important role in plant speciation (Lysak et al., 2006;Weiss-Schneeweiss, Schneeweiss, 2013) and, therefore, chromosome numbers and ploidy levels have been used to define evolutionary lineages and relationships between taxa (Blattne, 2004;Bennett, Leitch, 2011;Jang et al., 2018).Somatic chromosome number and karyotype information provide valuable characters in delimiting species and in distinguishing some closely related taxa.

Materials and methods
This study was carried out by using seeds collected from natural habitats in Iran.Voucher specimens are preserved in National Herbarium of Iran, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands (TARI).Two samples were studied from seeds of Gene bank of Natural resources of Iran and their code numbers are mentioned.The seeds were grown in lab.Cytological studies were done by using root tips meristems.Root tips were pretreated in 1 : 1000 aqueous alphabromonaphthalene for two hours and then fixed in a cold mixture of ethanol and acetic acid (3 : 1) for 4 hours.Temporary slides were made by squashing the cut and stained meristems in 1 % hematoxylin.Chromosome examination and photography were conducted by using a microscope (Olympus BX53) under 1000× magnification.
Perennial.The species dispersed in the Turkey, Iran, Caucasica, Central Asia, Afghanistan and N. Iraq.
The former report of P. uloptera is n = 11 from South East of Van (Kamari, 2004).Chromosome number of this species was reported for the first time for the flora of Iran.
Perennial.An endemic species that grows in the center and west of Iran (Esfahan and Fars provinces).Chromosome number of this species was reported for the first time.
The basic chromosome number of this genus is x = 9 and most of the species are diploid with great ecological ranges from desert to water-logged habitats (Dabrowska, 1992).Our result confirms this.
Perennial.The species is dispersed in the Europe, Turkey, Iran, Caucasia, Central Asia, Iraq and Syria.It grows in the north, northwest, west, center and northeast of Iran.Chromosome number of this species was reported for the second time for flora of Iran.The first time gametophytic count of this species was reported n = 8 (Massoumi, 1980).The former report from Madeira had same result (Dalgaard, 1985).It is in agreement with former reports.
Perennial.The species is dispersed in the Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan.
This species grows in the north, center and northeast of Iran.Chromosome number of this species was reported for the second time.The first time gametophytic count of this species was reported n = 6 (Massoumi, 1980).
Annual.Subendemic.The species is dispersed in the Caucasus and Iran.
Mirzadeh Vaghefi S. S. et al.Chromosome numbers of some native Iranian plants This species grows in the north, and northwest of Iran (Golestan, Mazandaran and Azarbayejan provinces) (Assadi et al., 2017).Chromosome number of this species was reported for the first time.

Fabaceae
Astragalus L. spp.Astragalus is the most prominent genus in Iran according to the number of species (Maassoumi, 1998).According to previous studies, New World Astragalus species (Neo-Astragalus) have diverse basic chromosome numbers (x = 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) while in the Old World the majority of Astragalus species has x = 8, which is considered to be the ancestral basic number (Ledingham, 1963(Ledingham, , 1964;;Wojciechowski, 1999).Iran plays as a migratory corridor between countries of the Old-World that has many common species with other countries.The Irano-Anatolian hotspot covered the most areas of the three metrics (SR-WE-CWE), followed by the Caucasus, Mountains of Central Asia, Himalayas, and Mediterranean Basin (Maassoumi, Ashouri, 2022).
Perennial.The species is dispersed in Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan (Maassoumi, 2003).
This species grows in the northeast and center of Iran (Khorasan, Semnan and Tehran provinces).Chromosome number of this species was reported for the first time.
Perennial.An endemic species that grows in the center of Iran (Tehran province) (Maassoumi, 2003).Chromosome number of this species was reported for the first time.
Perennial.An endemic species that grows in the north of Iran (Mazandaran and Tehran provinces) (Vasilchenko, 1984;Maassoumi, 2013).Chromosome number of this species was reported for the first time.
Perennial.The species is a subendemic, and native range of this species is East of Turkey, Iran and probably Armenia.Chromosome number of this species was reported for the first time.
Perennial.An endemic species that grows in the northwest and center of Iran (Azarbayejan, Tehran and Semnan provinces) (Jamzad, 2012).Chromosome number of this species was reported for the second time.The first time was reported 2n = 18 for this species (Hasaninejad et al., 2021).The genus Nepeta L. has a large variation of chromosome number that ranges from 12 to 54 with the most common basic chromosomes of x = 8 and x = 9 (Baden, 1984;Saggoo et al., 2011;Kharazian et al., 2013).Our investigations agree with previous counts.

Conclusion
In this study 11 native species from the flora of Iran were investigated.Some of them (five species) are endemic and two species are subendemic.Studied species, except Prangos uloptera, have polyploidy level, other species are diploids.Valuable chromosome counts (seven species) were presented in this research for the first time.One species were reported for the first time for the flora of Iran.