Cytotaxonomical aspects of Antarctic mosses, with special reference to the proportion of polyploidy

Abstract

The evolutionary tendency concerning karyological features, especially the proportion of polyploidy and infraspecific polyploidy in Antarctic mosses is reviewed. Almost all chromosome numbers reported from sub-Antarctic and maritime Antarctic are within the world-wide range of deviation of ploidy proportions. The mosses at Yukidori Valley, in the vicinity of Syowa Station, Continental Antarctica, indicate an unusually high frequency of polyploidy, containing infraspecific polyploidy, which is of particularly interest in the understanding of the role of polyploidization in the harsh Antarctic environment.