Análise citogenética comparada em sisal (entre o híbrido 11648 e Agave sisalana Perrine)

Abstract

The genus Agave L. is extensively cultivated in many countries for present utilities in various sectors of the economy. The species Agave sisalana Perrine and the hybrid 11648 are the most important economically genotypes for Brazil, which is the largest producer and exporter of the extracted fiber from its leaves, known as “sisal”. Studies of their karyotypes have been limited so far the conventional staining techniques, which have been presented as insufficient, which have proven insufficient due to the small size and similarity of their chromosomes, so there is a need for more detailed analysis. This study aimed to analyze the karyotypes of the species Agave sisalana and hybrid 11648, by means of conventional staining techniques, the double staining CMA / DAPI and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), in order to provide information that might be useful in breeding programs. The research was conducted at the Laboratório de Citogenética Vegetal, on the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (Botany Departament, UFRPE). The data of the conventional staining revealed that the hybrid 11648 is a diploid with 2n = 60, with a bimodal karyotype composed by five large chromosomes pairs and 25 small pairs. On the other hand, the species A. sisalana presented a pentaploid karyotype with 5n = 147 chromosomes, of which 25 were large and 122 were small. The pattern of CMA + band observed revealed that there is presence of constitutive heterochromatin rich in CG and that probably it remains conserved in both genotypes, with four bands observed in the hybrid and eight in the A. sisalana. In the hybrid sisal, FISH revealed two sites of 5S rDNA in a small chromosomes pair and two sites of 45S rDNA in a large chromosomes pair. In the species A. sisalana, 45S rDNA probes revealed five NOR, two of which are fully distended, forming secondary constrictions and the other three remain condensed and inactive throughout the cell cycle. This study provides new insights on the sisal karyotype, which can be useful for purposes of characterization and conservation of hits on germplasm banks as well as for use in breeding programs.