Molecular Cytogenetics of Eurasian Species of the Genus L. (Fabaceae).

The systematic knowledge on the genus L. (Fabaceae: Hedysareae) is still incomplete. The species from the section are valuable forage and medicinal resources. For eight species, we constructed the integrated schematic map of their distribution within Eurasia based on currently available scattered data. For the first time, we performed cytogenomic characterization of twenty accessions covering eight species for evaluating genomic diversity and relationships within the section . Based on the intra- and interspecific variability of chromosomes bearing 45S and 5S rDNA clusters, four main karyotype groups were detected in the studied accessions: (1) , , , , and (one chromosome pair with 45S rDNA and one pair bearing 5S rDNA); (2) and one accession of (one chromosome pair with 45S rDNA and two pairs bearing 5S rDNA); (3) (one chromosome pair with 45S rDNA and one chromosome pair bearing 5S rDNA and 45S rDNA); (4) (two pairs with 45S rDNA and one pair bearing 5S rDNA). The species-specific chromosomal markers detected in karyotypes of , and can be useful in taxonomic studies of this section.