DIVERSITY AND DYNAMICS OF PLANT GENOME SIZE: AN EXAMPLE OF POLYSOMATY FROM A CYTOGENETIC STUDY OF TAHITIAN VANILLA (VANILLA XTAHITENSIS, ORCHIDACEAE).

• Premise of the study: Abnormal mitotic behavior with somatic aneuploidy and partial endoreplication were previously reported for the first time in the plant kingdom in Vanilla planifolia. Because vanilla plants are vegetatively propagated, such abnormalities have been transmitted. This study aimed to determine whether mitotic abnormalities also occur in Vanilla hybrid or are suppressed by sexual reproduction. • Methods: Twenty-eight accessions of Vanilla x tahitensis , one V. planifolia , and hybrid V. planifolia x V. x tahitensis were analyzed by chromosome counts, cytometry, and fluorescent in situ hybridization of 18S-5.8S-26S rDNA. • Key results: In a single root meristem of V. x tahitensis , chromosome number varied from 22 to 31 in diploids (mean 2C = 5.23 pg), 31 to 41 in triploids (2C = 7.82 pg) and 43 to 60 in tetraploids (2C = 10.27 pg). Morphological diversity is apparently related to ploidy changes. Aneuploidy and partial (asymmetrical) endoreduplication were observed in root meristems of both V. x tahitensis and the hybrid V. planifolia x V. x tahitensis , but pollen grains had the euploid chromosome number ( n = 15 in diploids). • Conclusions: Genome irregularities may be transmitted not only during vegetative propagation but also by sexual reproduction in Vanilla. However, there must be a complex regulation of genome size and organization between the aneuploidy in somatic tissues and subsequently euploid gametic tissue. This is a novel example of polysomaty with developmentally regulated partial endoreplication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]