B-chromosome and C-band heterochromatin variation in Arizona maize populations adapted to different altitudes

Abstract

The B-chromosome and C-band numbers were determined in 12 Arizona Indian maize populations. These populations were originally collected from altitudes ranging from 100 to 5300 ft (1 ft = 0.3048 m). In addition, the total nuclear DNA amounts of these populations have been observed to vary by as much as 20%. The number of B-chromosomes was not significantly correlated with altitude, C-band number, or nuclear DNA amount. C-band number was significantly correlated with both altitude and genome size. It does not appear that the amount of C-band variation can account for the large nuclear DNA variation observed in these accessions. Additional A-chromosomal DNA sequences may be involved in the nuclear DNA content variation that exists among these accessions.Key words: heterochromatin, DNA content, evolution, repeated DNA.