Nucleolar number variation in Fritillaria (Liliaceae) taxa from Greece

Abstract

The current study aims to estimate the most frequent number of nucleoli in taxonomically interesting Fritillaria species. Silver nitrate staining is applied using a modified protocol in 14 taxa and one hybrid from 17 populations from Greece. This is the first report of the number of nucleoli for all the Fritillaria taxa studied here. In general, the number of nucleoli ranges from 0-8, with Fritillaria pontica and F. theophrasti characterised by the greatest number of observed nucleoli. The results reinforce the classification of taxonomically intriguing taxa, such as Fritillaria sporadum and F. theophrasti, as distinct species, even though they have recently been considered synonyms of F. ehrhartii and F. pontica, respectively.

Keywords

• karyology
• nucleoli
• agno3
• nors
• greek endemics