Karyotype variation in 11 species of the Vernonieae Cass. tribe (Asteraceae Bercht. & J. Presl)

The Vernonieae tribe presents strong taxonomic delimitation problems as it is considered one of the most complex groups of the Asteraceae family, comprising approximately 1100 species distributed across 129 genera. In this study, a comparative analysis of the Vernonieae species was performed to understand the events involved in the chromosome evolution of these species and to further deduce their taxonomy. The representatives were cytogenetically characterized via analyses of morphology, karyotype asymmetry and differential staining with fluorochromes CMA and DAPI as well as FISH. According to morphometric data, all species showed symmetrical karyotypes with prevailing metacentric chromosomes, even in species belonging to different genera. Variability in diploid chromosome number was detected (2n = 18 to 2n = 60), and chromosome sizes were observed to be between 1.00 and 4.09 μm. Additionally, variation in the pattern of heterochromatin was observed mainly in relation to CMA⁺ bands, in which the number varied from 4 to 16 heterochromatic regions. Only one species, Vernonia scorpioides, presented positive DAPI bands, which were located in the terminal position in most of the chromosomes. The differences in the sizes and quantities of heterochromatic bands may be related to small structural rearrangements during karyotype evolution of the Vernonieae tribe.