Cytogenetic evaluation of Pinus sylvestris L. in the European North of Russia (Republic of Karelia)

Abstract

This article presents the results of cytogenetic analysis of the Pinus sylvestris L. seed progeny from 5 populations growing in the boreal forests of the European North of Russia (Republic of Karelia). Based on the study of plants karyotype, it was found that in addition to diploid cells some seedlings contained single tetraploid and aneuploid cells. Mainly, mixoploid plants were found in Sheltozerskoye and Ambarnskoye forest divisions. It is important to note that these populations were characterized by high values of such indicators as the frequency of mitotic pathologies at the metaphase and ana-telophase stages (5.3 ± 0.6 and 7.1 ± 0.6 % respectively), as well as the proportion of cells with micronuclei (0.2 ± 0.06 and 0.1 ± 0.04 % respectively) in the root meristem of Pinus sylvestris. However, despite data received, seeds from Sheltozersky and Ambarnsky forest divisions had high germination values. Nine types of chromosome aberrations were found due to the analysis: fragmentation, bridges, ring chromosomes, lagging, chromosome leading, isolation, multipolar and chaotic chromosome divergence, complex (multiple) disorders. In most of the seedlings studied, the most common pathology was chromosome overrun. In addition, the study showed that bridges proportion in the total disturbances’ spectrum at the ana-telophase stages of mitosis increases by ~ 3.5 times in Pinus sylvestris populations growing in the northern taiga subzone compared to the middle taiga populations. In most of the seedlings studied, the most common pathology was chromosome overrun. Thus, the use of a cytogenetic test made it possible to evaluate the state of Pinus sylvestris genome from different populations in the European North of Russia and to identify responses aimed at plant adaptation to environmental conditions at the cellular level.