Abstract Detail

Recent Topics Posters

GOUNSSA, Abdelkarim [1], OUAREG, Zakaria [1], El GASMI, Omar [1], HORMAT, Kamal [1], EL ABOUDI, Ahmed  [1], EL ALAOUI-FARIS, Fatima Ezzahra [1], GUENNOUN, Naima [1], TAHIRI, Hikmat [1], ARAHOU, Moustapha [1].

A Review of chromosome numbers of Moroccan Asteraceae.

Chromosome number and ploidy level are valuable tool to study the evolutionary significance of their variation. Because they are linked to morphological adaptations, ecology and geographic distribution. In term of biodiversity the Asteraceae is the largest family of flowering plants in the world with around 24,000-30,000 species and 1600-1700 genera and is distributed around the world except for Antarctica. In Moroccan vascular flora, the Asteraceae family ranks first in terms of specific wealth, with 550 species and 126 subspecies belonging to around 128 genera. Centaurea being the richest genus with 51 species. Moreover, according to the rate of endemics, this family is ranked third with 24% right after Lamiaceae and Plumbaginaceae with respectively 40 % and 28%. Karyological studies on Moroccan Asteraceae have started with Quezel and Reese in 1957 separately, the last one was made in 2019 by Gounssa et al. This immense knowledge that has been established needs to be organized in order to be a widely accessible tool and assist researchers in this field. In this contribution, a database was established by inspecting and compiling the chromosome counts of Moroccan Asteraceae published in former studies; the taxonomic names were verified and updated to the recent and accepted ones, by using Moroccan flora and online botany databases: the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), The plant list (TPL) and Tela botanica. These counts were georeferenced by converting their localities into decimal geographic latitude and longitude. As a result, we listed the chromosome number of 281 species with their voucher specimen references and localities; we found 40 taxons are strictly endemic to Morocco, 8 taxons are endemic to Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula, 11 taxons are endemic to Morocco and Algeria, 8 taxons are endemic to Morocco, The Iberian Peninsula and Algeria, 2 taxons are endemic to Morocco and The Canary islands, 1 taxon is endemic to Morocco, The Iberian peninsula and The Canary islands and 1 taxon is endemic to Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. Concerning the ploidy level, the majority of taxons are diploid, thus a map with georeferenced chromosome counts was generated.

1 - Faculty of Science Rabat, Department of Biology, Department of Biology. 4 Avenue Ibn Battouta B.P. 1014 RP, Rabat, Rabat, Rabat, The Kingdom of Morocco

Keywords:
Karyology
chromosome number
Asteraceae
Moroccan flora.

Presentation Type: Recent Topics Poster
Session: P1, Recent Topics Posters
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Thursday, July 22nd, 2021
Time: 5:00 PM(EDT)
Number: P1RT002
Abstract ID:1371
Candidate for Awards:None