Study on chromosome number and karyotype in the north taro germplasm preserved at the Plant Resources Center - Vietnamese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Chomosome number and karyotypes of the North taro germplasm collections maintained at The Plant Resources Center were studied for the database of taro germplasms and to assess genetic diversity in taro (Colocasia esculenta Schott) in Vietnam. The results showed that, most of the 250 accessions of collections discovered are diploid (2n = 2x = 28), accounting for 77,2%, only 22,8% of the germplasm collections are triploid (2n = 3x = 42). The frequency of distribution of diploid and triploid taros between the natural geographic sub-region of the Northwest mountainous and the Northeastern mountainous and midland sub-region is similar. The northern taro germplasm is being conserved is cytogenetic diversity expressed in both chromosome sets (diploid and triploid) and 5 different karyotypes. Three of the five karyotypes (diploid karyotype 11 m + 3 sm, 10 m + 3 sm + 1st, and triploid karyotype, 10 m + 4 sm) were detected in the study were not still reported in taro of Vietnam, therefore added data on the diversity of karyotypes in the taro species of our country. The detailed analysis of chromosomes obtained in this study has provided cytogenetic data, contributing to enriching the taro germplasm database, which is meaningful in conservation and evolutionary research, and planning of breeding programs for new cultivar production of this crop to grow in different agroclimatic environments.