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Abstract Detail


Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS

Bainard, Jillian D. [1], Newmaster, Steve [2].

Using flow cytometry to estimate genome size in bryophytes: a closer look at methodology.

Other than the genotype or phenotype of a plant, the nucleotype (the role of the nucleus or DNA content itself, beyond the effect of genes) can also play a role in plant morphology and ecology. This has been seen in angiosperms and other plant groups where correlations were found between genome size and various traits (such as cell size, seed size and geographic range). No such study has been undertaken in bryophytes and only 1% of bryophyte species have a genome size that is recorded in literature. The majority of moss genome size estimates are very small (less than 1 pg). Flow cytometry has proven to be a very useful tool to estimate genome size in plants; however, within the standard methods, small variations can be made which may influence genome size estimates. Given the small range in bryophyte genome size estimates, considerable errors could be produced when comparing values obtained with slightly different methods. To explore this issue, four phylogenetically distinct mosses were chosen, and genome size estimates were obtained using nine different buffers commonly used in plant flow cytometry. As well, variations in propidium iodide staining time and concentration were explored. The results show that differences in buffer not only significantly affected the quality of the resulting data, but that different buffers could also account for up to 10% of the variation seen in moss genome size estimates. Staining time and duration also affected the genome size estimates. These issues must be taken into consideration for research where small differences in genome size are being studied, or where data is being compared that has been obtained through different methods.


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1 - University of Guelph, Integrative Biology, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
2 - Univeristy of Guelph, Integrative Biology, 50 Stone Rd East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

Keywords:
bryophytes
genome size
DNA content
flow cytometry.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for BSA Sections
Session: 22
Location: Magpie B/Cliff Lodge - Level B
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2009
Time: 2:30 PM
Number: 22005
Abstract ID:789