Caryologia. International Journal of Cytology, Cytosystematics and Cytogenetics 75(3): 145-157, 2022 Firenze University Press www.fupress.com/caryologia ISSN 0008-7114 (print) | ISSN 2165-5391 (online) | DOI: 10.36253/caryologia-1831 Caryologia International Journal of Cytology, Cytosystematics and Cytogenetics Citation: Neslihan Taşar, İlhan Kaya Tekbudak, İbrahim Demir, Mikail Açar, Murat Kürşat (2022). Comparative karyo- logical analysis of some Turkish Cus- cuta L. (Convolvulaceae). Caryologia 75(3): 145-157. doi: 10.36253/caryolo- gia-1831 Received: September 13, 2022 Accepted: November 25, 2022 Published: April 5, 2023 Copyright: © 2022 Neslihan Taşar, İlhan Kaya Tekbudak, İbrahim Demir, Mikail Açar, Murat Kürşat. This is an open access, peer-reviewed article pub- lished by Firenze University Press (http://www.fupress.com/caryologia) and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All rel- evant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Competing Interests: The Author(s) declare(s) no conflict of interest. ORCID NT: 0000-0002-0417-4660 İKT: 0000-0002-2754-2489 İD: 0000-0003-1533-556X MA: 0000-0003-3848-5798 MK: 0000-0002-0861-4213 Comparative karyological analysis of some Turkish Cuscuta L. (Convolvulaceae) Neslihan Taşar¹, İlhan Kaya Tekbudak2, İbrahim Demir3, Mikail Açar1,*, Murat Kürşat3 1 Munzur University, Department of Plant and Animal Production, Tunceli Vocational School of Higher Education, Tunceli, 62000, Turkey 2 Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Plant Protection, Van, Turkey 3 Bitlis Eren University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, Bitlis, Turkey *Corresponding author. E-mail: mikailacar@munzur.edu.tr Abstract. This study investigated the somatic chromosome numbers and morphomet- ric properties of 11 different taxa belonging to the genus Cuscuta L., which is one of the parasitic flowering plants and causes significant economic losses on agricultural products. For this purpose, the species were examined karyologically and compared statistically. Belonging to the genus Cuscuta, C. campestris Yunck., C. hyalina Roth, C. kotschyana Boiss., C. babylonica Aucher ex Choisy, C. europaea L., C. kurdica Engelm., C. brevistyla A.Braun ex A.Rich, C. planiflora Ten., C. approximata Bab., C. lupuliformis Krock. C. palaestina Boiss. the chromosome number and morphology of the species were investigated using karyological techniques. Chromosome numbers of the species; C. kotschyana, C. babylonica, C. europaea, C. kurdica, C.planiflora 2n=14; C. campes- tris, C. hyalina, C. approximata, C. lupuliformis, and C. palaestina 2n=28 and C. brevi- styla 2n=42 is determined. Also, the species’ chromosome number, total chromosome length, relative length, arm ratio, centromere index and centromere states, and karyo- type asymmetry values were determined. Chromosome numbers of C. kotschyana and C. kurdica taxa were defined for the first time in this study. Thus, new data on the sys- tematics of these species have been revealed. Keywords: Convolvulaceae, Cuscuta, parasitic plant, Chromosome number, karyotype. INTRODUCTION Cuscuta (Dodder) is a member of the Convolvulaceae family, including about 200 different root parasite species. About 15-20 of these species cause severe problems in agricultural areas (Dawson et al., 1994). With this, most Cuscuta species are considered extinct in the wild, and some species even require conservation measures in nature (Costea and Stefanovic 2009a). Cus- cuta species can be found in various habitats, including temperate, tropical, desert, riparian, coastal, high mountain, woodland, saltwater, and degraded environments (Costea et al., 2015). Like other parasitic plants, Cuscuta species play an essential role in ecosystems (Press et al. 1999). 146 Neslihan Taşar et al. Yunker (1932) divided the genus Cuscuta into three subgenera according to styles and stigma shapes. These; Cuscuta are Grammica (Lour.), Yunck, and Monogynella (Des Moul.). In the flora of Turkey, 15 species of these subgenera and two unknown species (C. aratica Butk. and C. subuniflora K. Koch), and one suspicious (C. epili- num Wiehe) species have been identified (Plitman, 1978). Since the vegetative parts of parasitic plants are generally reduced, flower characters are insufficient in taxonomy. This situation creates problems in diagnosis. For this rea- son, it is necessary to use some methods to identify spe- cies belonging to the genus Cuscuta. Studying chromo- some numbers and structures can give valuable results in solving taxonomic problems (Taşar et al., 2018a; 2018b). It has been determined that Cuscuta species general- ly have holocentric chromosomes and undergo inverted meiosis (Pazy and Putmann 1987; 1991; 1994). Some morphological features are overlooked in plant determinations and classifications of classical taxonomy. Characteristics acquired according to environmental fac- tors appear to be new features, confusing classification. For this reason, considering the characters in classical taxonomy, examining the chromosome numbers, struc- ture and structures gives beneficial results in solving the problems (Taşar et al., 2018a; 2018b ). In addition, statisti- cal analyzes can be useful in morphological and anatomi- cal studies recently (Genç et al. 2021; Arabacı et al. 2021; Dirmenci et al. 2019; Dirmenci et al. 2020; Açar and Satıl 2019; Açar and Taşar 2022). This study aims to reveal the karyological features of Cuscuta species distributed in Turkey, determine the relationships between them, and contribute to the genus’s taxonomic classification. MATERIAL AND METHODS Material Cuscuta samples, the study material, were obtained from the field. Localities of taxa are given in Table 1. Plant taxa were identified using the genus Cuscuta (Yuncker 1932) and Flora of Turkey. (Davis, 1978). The collected specimens have been turned into herbarium material and are kept in Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Faculty of Agriculture, Plant Protection Department, and Bitlis Eren University, Biology Department. Methods Chromosome measurements The seeds of the plant samples were sown in Petri dishes and germinated in an oven at 20-22 ºC. Roots reaching 1–2 cm in length from the germinated seeds were cut, kept in colchicine for 2 hours at room tem- perature, and subjected to pretreatment (Gedik et al., 2014). Then, the root tips were placed in Carnoy fixa- tive (3:1) and fixed by keeping them in the refrigerator at +4 ºC for 24 hours. At the end of the period, root tips were hydrolyzed in 1N HCl in an oven at 60 ºC for 5-18 minutes. Root tips removed from hydrolysis were stained with Feulgen stain for 1 hour in a dark environment at room temperature. Then it was washed 2-3 times with tap water. For preparation, the growth meristem part was cut off with a sharp razor blade in a drop of 45% acetic acid on the slide, and the coverslip was closed. The best three somatic cells for each species were pho- tographed using an Olympus BX53 microscope. The naming system of Levan (1964) was used to locate the centromere. The intra-chromosomal asymmetry index (A1) was calculated according to the formula proposed by Romero Zarco (1986). Interchromosomal asymmetry index (A2) and karyotype symmetry nomenclature were made according to Stebbins (1971). Statistical analisyes For analysis used, several formulas were established on chromosome characteristics. The measurements were built on haploid datasets. The calculations and abbre- viations used in the analysis are as follows. TLC (total length of chromosomes), MTLC (mean of total length of chromosomes), MAX (maximum length of chromo- some), MIN (minimum length of chromosomes), MLA (mean of long arms), MSA (mean of short arms), MrV (mean of r-value), MdV (mean of d value), MAR (mean of arm ratio), MCI (mean of chromosome index), MRLC (mean of the relative length of chromosomes), DRL (dif- ference of range of relative length), TF% (total form percentage), S% (relative length of the shortest chromo- some), A1 (intrachromosomal asymmetry index), A2 (interchromosomal asymmetry index), and A (Degree of asymmetry). Both arm ratios were assumed to be equally affected (Adhikary 1974). All karyotype formulas and asymmetry indexes were determined based on Huziwara (1962) (TF%), Levan et al. (1964) (r and d values), Zarco (1986) (A1 and A2), Watanabe (1999) (A), Peruzzi and Eroğlu (2013) (CI) as well. The abbreviations were taken from Rezeai et al. (2014) (RLC%, DRL, S%). The formu- las are as follows. Formulas 147Comparative karyological analysis of some Turkish Cuscuta L. (Convolvulaceae) d value=Length of the long arm of chromosome-Length of the short arm of chromosome DRL=(maximum relative length)- (minimum relative length) (li = lengths of a long arm, si = lengths of a short arm, n = haploid chromosome number). (n = number of homologous chromosome pairs, bi = the average length of short arms in every homologous chro- mosome pair, Bi = the average length of long arms in eve- ry homologous chromosome pair). (S = standard deviation of chromosome lengths, = mean of chromosome lengths). A data matrix was constructed according to 17 chromosomal traits in Table 1. The Principal Compo- nent Analysis (PCA) was used based on the data matrix. Next, the cluster analysis was made using the Gower similarity index to determine the relationships between Cuscuta taxa’s chromosome traits. Also, the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) analysis was performed to see strong and weak relationships between chromosome traits. At the same time, Shapiro - Wilk normality test was performed. Then, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine whether the dif- ference between the data was statistically significant. All the analyses were carried out with PAleontoSTatistics (PAST) (Hammer et al. 2001). RESULTS In this study, the karyological characteristics of 11 different Cuscuta taxa were investigated, and their details are given below. Cuscuta campestris: The chromosome number of C. campestris, native to the United States of America and spread to many countries from there, and can be found almost everywhere in Turkey, was found to be 2n=2x=28. The haploid karyotype formula of this spe- cies is 10 median regions (m), 2 submedian regions (cm), and 2 dotted median (M) regions. Metaphase chromo- some length varies between 2.48-1.48 μm. Chromosome arm ratios vary between 1.43-1 μm. Its centromere index ranges from 50.00 to 29.44 μm, and its relative length is between 10.93 and 18.32 μm. The intra-chromosomal asymmetric index (A1) is 0.32, and the inter-chromo- somal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.04 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta hyalina: The chromosome number of C. hyalina species, distributed in Turkey’s local area (Bitlis Table 1. The localities of studied taxa. Taxa Localities Voucher specimen Cuscuta campestris Yunck. Adana, İmamoğlu, Alaybey village 1752 Cuscuta hyalina Roth. Bitlis, Hizan, Karbastı village 2101 Cuscuta kotschyana Boiss. Bitlis, Süphan mountain 2098 Cuscuta babylonica Aucher ex Choisy. Van, Çatak, Sırmalı village 2100 Cuscuta europaea L. Bitlis, Hizan 1993 Cuscuta kurdica Engelm. Hakkâri, Ördekli village 14935 Cuscuta brevistyla A.Braun ex A.Rich Bitlis, Hizan 1786 Cuscuta planiflora Ten. Van, Tuşba 1766 Cuscuta approximata Bab. Denizli, Honaz mountain 1801 Cuscuta lupuliformis. Hakkâri Centre 2099 Cuscuta palaestina Boiss. Van, Gürpınar 2095 148 Neslihan Taşar et al. Table 2. Chromosomes measurements of Cuscuta taxa (Ch. No: Chromosome No, C: Total length of the chromosome, L: Length of the long arm, S: Length of the short arm, CP: Centromeric position). Ch. No C L S L/S CI RL CP Cuscuta campestris 1 2,48 1,46 1,02 1,43 41,13 0,00 m 2 2,4 1,4 1 1,40 41,67 0,00 m 3 2,29 1,39 0,9 1,54 39,30 0,00 m 4 2,1 1,31 0,79 1,66 37,62 0,00 m 5 2,06 1,03 1,03 1,00 50,00 0,00 M 6 2,06 1,16 0,9 1,29 43,69 0,00 m 7 1,98 1,21 0,77 1,57 38,89 0,00 m 8 1,9 1,08 0,82 1,32 43,16 0,00 m 9 1,84 1,12 0,72 1,56 39,13 0,00 m 10 1,8 1,27 0,53 2,40 29,44 0,00 sm 11 1,67 1,03 0,64 1,61 38,32 0,00 m 12 1,54 0,84 0,7 1,20 45,45 0,00 m 13 1,51 1,03 0,48 2,15 31,79 0,00 sm 14 1,48 0,74 0,74 1,00 50,00 0,00 M Cuscuta kotschyana 1 3,95 2,1 1,85 1,14 46,84 6,19 m 2 3,93 2,51 1,42 1,77 36,13 6,22 sm 3 3,51 1,89 1,62 1,17 46,15 6,96 m 4 3,47 1,93 1,54 1,25 44,38 7,04 m 5 3,36 1,68 1,68 1,00 50,00 7,27 M 6 3,18 1,61 1,57 1,03 49,37 7,69 m 7 3,04 1,52 1,52 1,00 50,00 8,04 M Cuscuta europaea 1 6,48 3,60 2,88 1,25 44,44 5,25 m 2 5,58 3,42 2,16 1,58 38,71 6,10 m 3 4,72 3,00 1,72 1,74 36,44 7,21 sm 4 4,53 2,63 1,90 1,38 41,94 7,51 m 5 4,37 2,45 1,92 1,28 43,94 7,79 m 6 4,35 2,52 1,83 1,38 42,07 7,82 m 7 4,00 2,70 1,30 2,08 32,50 8,51 sm Cuscuta brevistyla 1 3,95 2,10 1,85 1,14 46,84 6,19 m 2 3,93 2,51 1,42 1,77 36,13 6,22 sm 3 3,51 1,89 1,62 1,17 46,15 6,96 m 4 3,47 1,93 1,54 1,25 44,38 7,04 m 5 3,36 1,68 1,68 1,00 50,00 7,27 M 6 3,18 1,61 1,57 1,03 49,37 7,69 m 7 3,04 1,52 1,52 1,00 50,00 8,04 M 8 3,01 1,85 1,16 1,59 38,54 11,07 m 9 2,90 1,79 1,11 1,61 38,28 11,49 m 10 2,85 1,55 1,30 1,19 45,61 11,69 m 11 2,81 1,60 1,21 1,32 43,06 11,86 m 12 2,68 1,34 1,34 1,00 50,00 12,44 M 13 2,54 1,49 1,05 1,42 41,34 13,12 m 14 2,46 1,26 1,20 1,05 48,78 13,55 m 15 2,30 1,18 1,12 1,05 48,70 14,49 m 16 2,22 1,11 1,11 1,00 50,00 15,01 M Ch. No C L S L/S CI RL CP 17 2,03 1,10 0,93 1,18 45,81 16,42 m 18 1,94 1,16 0,78 1,49 40,21 17,18 m 19 1,92 1,00 0,92 1,09 47,92 17,36 m 20 1,89 1,05 0,84 1,25 44,44 17,63 m 21 1,78 0,92 0,86 1,07 48,31 18,72 m Cuscuta palaestina 1 4,80 2,40 2,40 1,00 50,00 10,78 M 2 4,74 2,44 2,30 1,06 48,52 10,92 m 3 4,69 2,53 2,16 1,17 46,06 11,04 m 4 4,36 2,97 1,39 2,14 31,88 11,87 sm 5 4,28 2,93 1,35 2,17 31,54 12,09 sm 6 4,13 2,91 1,22 2,39 29,54 12,53 sm 7 3,93 2,37 1,56 1,52 39,69 13,17 m 8 3,72 2,34 1,38 1,70 37,10 13,91 sm 9 3,42 1,71 1,71 1,00 50,00 15,13 M 10 3,16 1,58 1,58 1,00 50,00 16,38 M 11 2,89 1,55 1,34 1,16 46,37 17,91 m 12 2,79 1,56 1,23 1,27 44,09 18,55 m 13 2,62 1,44 1,18 1,22 45,04 19,76 m 14 2,23 1,23 1,00 1,23 44,84 23,21 m Cuscuta hyalina 1 5,18 2,63 2,55 1,03 49,23 11,08 m 2 5,05 2,58 2,47 1,04 48,91 11,36 m 3 4,93 2,50 2,43 1,03 49,29 11,64 m 4 4,80 2,40 2,40 1,00 50,00 11,95 M 5 4,50 2,35 2,15 1,09 47,78 12,75 m 6 4,40 2,20 2,20 1,00 50,00 13,04 M 7 4,25 2,15 2,10 1,02 49,41 13,50 m 8 4,18 2,30 1,88 1,22 44,98 13,72 m 9 4,00 2,00 2,00 1,00 50,00 14,34 M 10 3,58 1,85 1,73 1,07 48,32 16,03 m 11 3,42 1,71 1,71 1,00 50,00 16,77 M 12 3,19 1,61 1,58 1,02 49,53 17,98 m 13 3,09 1,57 1,52 1,03 49,19 18,57 m 14 2,80 1,50 1,30 1,15 46,43 20,49 m Cuscuta babylonica 1 6,23 3,48 2,75 1,27 44,14 5,45 m 2 5,32 3,12 2,20 1,42 41,35 6,38 m 3 5,22 3,50 1,72 2,03 32,95 6,51 sm 4 4,69 3,24 1,45 2,23 30,92 7,24 sm 5 4,36 2,18 2,18 1,00 50,00 7,79 M 6 4,34 2,64 1,70 1,55 39,17 7,82 m 7 3,80 2,36 1,44 1,64 37,89 8,94 m Cuscuta kurdica 1 4,80 2,40 2,40 1,00 50,00 6,46 M 2 4,67 2,45 2,22 1,10 47,54 6,64 m 3 4,66 2,50 2,16 1,16 46,35 6,65 m 4 4,40 3,00 1,40 2,14 31,82 7,05 sm 149Comparative karyological analysis of some Turkish Cuscuta L. (Convolvulaceae) province), was found as 2n=2x=28. The haploid karyo- type formula of this species has 10 median regions (m) and 4 points median (M) regions. Metaphase chromo- some length varies between 5.18-2.80 μm. Chromosome arm ratios vary between 1.03-1.15 μm. Its centromere index ranges from 50.00 to 44.98 μm and relative length from 11.08 to 20.49 μm. The intra-chromosomal asym- metric index (A1) is 0.04, and the inter-chromosomal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.04 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta kotshyana var. caudata: The chromosome number of this species was determined as 2n=2x=14. Haploid karyotype formula; It has 4 median regions (m), 2 points median (M) and 1 submedian region (cm) region. Metaphase chromosome length was measured in lengths ranging from 3.93-3.04 μm. Chromosome arm ratios vary between 1.77-1 μm. The centromere index is 50.00-36.13 μm. Its relative length was measured in the range of 6.22-8.04 μm. The intra-chromosomal asym- metric index (A1) is 0.15, and the inter-chromosomal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.07 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta babylonica var. babylonica: The chromo- some number of this species is mainly found in the East- ern Anatolia region of Turkey, at an altitude of 850-1200 m, whose stems are between thin filamentous and medi- um thickness, and which is yellowish-red is 2n=2x=14. The haploid karyotype formula of this species is 4 medi- an regions (m), 2 submedian regions (cm), and 1 dot- ted median (M) region. Metaphase chromosome length varies between 6.23-3.80 μm. Chromosome arm ratios range from 1.64 to 1 μm. Its centromere index ranges from 50.00-30.92 μm, and its relative length ranges from 5.45 to 8.94 μm. The intra-chromosomal asymmetric index (A1) is 0.34, and the inter-chromosomal asymmet- ric index (A2) is 0.07 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta europaea: C. europaea; has 2n=2x=14 chro- mosomes. The haploid karyotype formula has 5 median regions (m) and 2 submedian regions (cm). Metaphase chromosome length varies between 6.48-4 μm. Chro- mosome arm ratios vary between 2.08-1.25 μm. Its cen- tromere index ranges from 44.44 to 32.50 μm, and its relative length ranges from 5.25 to 8.51 μm. The intra- chromosomal asymmetric index (A1) is 0.33, and the inter-chromosomal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.07 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta kurdica: The chromosome number of this species was found to be 2n=2x=14. The haploid karyo- type formula has 3 median regions (m), 3 submedian regions (cm), and 1 dotted median (M) region. Meta- phase chromosome length varies between 4.80-3.87 μm. Chromosome arm ratios vary between 2.27-1 μm. Its centromere index ranges from 50.00-30.59 μm and rela- tive length is between 6.46 and 8.01 μm. The intra-chro- mosomal asymmetric index (A1) is 0.34, and the inter- chromosomal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.07 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta brevistyla: The chromosome number of C. brevistyla species, which is annual, parasitic, and gen- erally distributed in the mountains, was determined as 2n=6x=42. The haploid karyotype formula has 15 medi- Ch. No C L S L/S CI RL CP 5 4,36 2,97 1,39 2,14 31,88 7,11 sm 6 4,25 2,95 1,30 2,27 30,59 7,30 sm 7 3,87 2,36 1,51 1,56 39,02 8,01 m Cuscuta approximata 1 3,68 1,84 1,84 1,00 50,00 8,87 M 2 3,36 1,68 1,68 1,00 50,00 9,72 M 3 3,08 1,82 1,26 1,44 40,91 10,60 m 4 2,48 1,28 1,20 1,07 48,39 13,17 m 5 2,42 1,50 0,92 1,63 38,02 13,49 m 6 2,36 1,36 1,00 1,36 42,37 13,83 m 7 2,28 1,40 0,88 1,59 38,60 14,32 m 8 2,12 1,24 0,88 1,41 41,51 15,40 m 9 2,01 1,20 0,81 1,48 40,30 16,24 m 10 1,98 0,99 0,99 1,00 50,00 16,49 M 11 1,85 1,24 0,61 2,03 32,97 17,65 sm 12 1,84 1,06 0,78 1,36 42,39 17,74 m 13 1,62 1,00 0,62 1,61 38,27 20,15 m 14 1,57 0,84 0,73 1,15 46,50 20,80 m Cuscuta lupuliformis 1 6,96 3,48 3,48 1,00 50,00 6,40 M 2 3,82 2,24 1,58 1,42 41,36 11,65 m 3 3,80 2,55 1,25 2,04 32,89 11,72 sm 4 3,20 1,60 1,60 1,00 50,00 13,91 M 5 3,14 1,82 1,32 1,38 42,04 14,18 m 6 3,07 1,83 1,24 1,48 40,39 14,50 m 7 2,98 1,76 1,22 1,44 40,94 14,94 m 8 2,94 1,80 1,14 1,58 38,78 15,14 m 9 2,76 1,70 1,06 1,60 38,41 16,13 m 10 2,52 1,56 0,96 1,63 38,10 17,67 m 11 2,43 1,33 1,10 1,21 45,27 18,32 m 12 2,40 1,20 1,20 1,00 50,00 18,55 M 13 2,30 1,26 1,04 1,21 45,22 19,36 m 14 2,20 1,10 1,10 1,00 50,00 20,24 M Cuscuta planiflora 1 5,28 2,64 2,64 1,00 50,00 5,54 M 2 4,35 2,55 1,80 1,42 41,38 6,72 m 3 4,24 2,82 1,42 1,99 33,49 6,89 sm 4 4,08 2,04 2,04 1,00 50,00 7,16 M 5 3,96 2,26 1,70 1,33 42,93 7,38 m 6 3,78 2,15 1,63 1,32 43,12 7,73 m 7 3,54 2,18 1,36 1,60 38,42 8,26 m 150 Neslihan Taşar et al. an regions (m), 3 submedian regions (cm), and 3 dotted median (M) regions. Metaphase chromosome length varies between 4.73-1.78 μm. Chromosome arm ratios vary between 1.97-1 μm. Its centromere index rang- es from 50.00-33.63 μm, and its relative length varies between 12.63- 33.55 μm. The intra-chromosomal asym- metric index (A1) is 0.25, and the inter-chromosomal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.02 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta planiflora: The chromosome number of this species was determined as 2n=2x=14. The haploid karyo- type formula has 4 median regions (m), 1 submedian region (cm), and 2 dotted median (M) regions. Meta- phase chromosome length varies between 5.28-3.54 μm. Chromosome arm ratios vary between 1.60-1 μm. Its centromere index ranges from 50.00 to 38.42 μm, and its relative length ranges from 5.54 to 8.26 μm. The intra- chromosomal asymmetric index (A1) is 0.24, and the inter-chromosomal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.07 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta approximata: C. approximata has 2n=4x=28 chromosomes. The haploid karyotype formula has 10 median regions (m), 1 submedian region (cm), and 3 point median (M) regions. Metaphase chromosome length varies between 3.68-1.57 μm. Chromosome arm ratios vary between 1.60-1 μm. Its centromere index ranges from 50.00 to 32.97 µm and its relative length from 8.87 to 20.80 µm. The intra-chromosomal asym- metric index (A1) is 0.23, and the inter-chromosomal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.04 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta lupuliformis: The chromosome number of this species was found to be 2n=2x=28. The haploid kar- yotype formula has 9 median regions (m), 1 submedian region (cm), and 4 point median (M) regions. Meta- phase chromosome length varies between 6.96-2.20 μm. Chromosome arm ratios vary between 2.04-1 μm. Its centromere index ranges from 50.00-32.89 μm, and its relative length is 6.40-20.24 μm. The intra-chromosomal asymmetric index (A1) is 0.24, and the inter-chromo- somal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.04 (Table 2, Figure 1). Cuscuta palaestina: The chromosome number of this species was determined as 2n=4x=28. The haploid karyotype formula is 7 median regions (m), 4 submedian regions (cm), and 3 point median (M) regions. Meta- phase chromosome length varies between 4.80-2.23 μm. Figure 1. Mitotic metaphase chromosomes of Cuscuta taxa 1. Cuscuta campestris, 2. Cuscuta hyalina, 3. Cuscuta kotschyana, 4. Cuscuta babylonica, 5. Cuscuta europaea 6. Cuscuta kurdica, 7. Cuscuta brevistyla, 8. Cuscuta planiflora, 9. Cuscuta approximata, 10. Cuscuta lupuli- formis, 11. Cuscuta palaestina (Scale:10 μm). 151Comparative karyological analysis of some Turkish Cuscuta L. (Convolvulaceae) Chromosome arm ratios vary between 2.39-1 μm. Its centromere index ranges from 50.00 to 44.84 µm and its relative length from 10.78 to 23.21 µm. The intra-chro- mosomal asymmetric index (A1) is 0.28, and the inter- chromosomal asymmetric index (A2) is 0.04 (Table 2, Figure 1). Karyotypes in plants; According to the types of chro- mosomes, there are two types: symmetrical and asym- metrical. The symmetrical karyotype is characterized by the predominance of median and submedian chro- mosomes of approximately the same size. The increase in asymmetry caused by the centromere shift creates an asymmetric karyotype. Chromosomes change from the median and submedian type to subterminal and termi- nal (Babaarslan and Eroğlu, 2014). When the asymmetric indices of Cuscuta taxa were examined, it was seen that the TF% value changed between 0.41-0.49, the A index changed between 0.02 and 0.25, the A1 index between 0.21-0.38 and the A2 index between 0.09-0.31 (Table 3). Statistical findings Chromosome micromorphological features of 11 Cuscuta taxa were specified, and statistical analyses were performed using formulas created using various chromosome features. Mitotic metaphase chromosome images of Cuscuta taxa are given in Figure 1, and karyo- type features are given in Table 2-3. One-way ANOVA test, which is one of the analyzes made according to the chromosome characteristics of the taxa, is given in Table According to the values obtained with the formu- las using the micromorphological chromosome features of taxa, the data show a normal distribution according to the Shapiro-Wilk test (p>0.05), and the residual plot graph is shown in Figure 2. Then, according to the one- way ANOVA test p-value, the difference between taxa was statistically significant (p<0.05) (Table 4). Correlation analysis According to the correlation analysis, there are rela- tions between the r-values of chromosomal data accord- ing to the significance level less than p <0.05. Particular- ly a high relationship Although there was a strong posi- tive relationship between MTLC and MIN, MAX, MLA, MSA, and MRV, it was observed that there was a strong negative relationship between MRLC and DRL. In addi- tion, MAR and A1 and A characters are strongly posi- tively correlated, while TF% is strongly negative; With MRLC, DRL is strongly positive while A2 is strongly negative; TF% was strongly negatively correlated with MAR, MDV, A1, A (Figure 3). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) According to PCA (Figure 4), the first two compo- nents explained most of the variation according to chro- mosome data between taxa. While the first two com- ponents explain 87.94 and 9.80% of the variance, these characters explained 97.75% of the total variation. The characters most affected by the variation were TLC, DRL%, MCl, and MRLC. The TLC value was the most influential one. The impact of other characters was very Table 3. Karyotype characteristics of Cuscuta taxa (TLC: Total Lenght of Chromosomes, MTLC (Mean of Total Length of Chromosomes, MAX: Maximum Length of Chromosome, MIN: Minimum Length of Chromosome, MLA: Mean of Long Arms, MSA: Mean of Short Arms, MrV: Mean of r Value, MdV: Mean of d Value, MAR: Mean of Arm Ratio, MCI: Mean of Chromosome Index, MRLC: Mean of Rela- tive Length of Chromosomes, DRL: Difference of Range of Relative Length, TF%: Total Form Percentage, S%: Relative Length of Shortest Chromosome, A1: Intrachromosomal Asymmetry Index, A2: Interchromosomal Asymmetry Index). Cuscuta Taxa TLC MTLC MAX MIN MLA MSA MrV MdV MAR MCI MRLC DRL TF% S% A1 A2 A C. campestris 27.11 0.97 1.46 0.48 1.14 0.78 1.92 0.36 1.51 40.69 14.37 7.39 0.41 0.33 0.32 0.04 0.19 C. hyalina 57.37 2.05 2.63 1.30 2.09 2.00 4.09 0.09 1.05 48.79 14.52 9.41 0.49 0.49 0.04 0.04 0.02 C.kotschyana 24.44 1.75 2.51 1.42 1.89 1.60 3.49 0.29 1.19 40.12 7.06 1.82 0.46 0.57 0.15 0.07 0.08 C. babylonica 33.96 2.43 3.5 1.45 2.93 1.92 4.85 1.01 1.59 39.49 7.16 3.49 0.40 0.41 0.34 0.07 0.21 C. europaea 34.03 2.43 3.6 1.30 2.90 1.95 4.85 0.95 1.53 40.01 7.17 3.26 0.40 0.36 0.33 0.07 0.20 C. kurdica 31.01 2.22 2.97 1.30 2.66 1.76 4.42 0.90 1.62 39.60 7.03 1.55 0.40 0.44 0.34 0.07 0.20 C. brevistyla 59.72 1.42 2.53 0.78 1.62 1.22 2.84 0.40 1.34 43.45 22.63 20.92 0.43 0.31 0.25 0.02 0.14 C. planiflora 29.23 2.09 2.82 1.36 2.37 1.79 4.16 0.58 1.38 42.76 7.01 2.72 0.43 0.48 0.24 0.07 0.14 C. approximata 32.65 1.17 1.84 0.61 1.31 1.01 2.32 0.30 1.37 43.87 14.89 11.92 0.43 0.33 0.23 0.04 0.13 C. lupuliformis 44.52 1.59 3.48 0.96 1.80 1.37 3.17 0.43 1.36 43.10 15.19 13.84 0.43 0.28 0.24 0.04 0.14 C. palaestina 51.76 1.85 2.97 1.01 2.14 1.55 3.69 0.59 1.43 42.48 14.80 12.43 0.42 0.34 0.28 0.04 0.16 152 Neslihan Taşar et al. low. While this TLC value was positively correlated with MCL, MRLC, and DRL characters in the correlation analysis, it was negatively correlated with MAR, A, A1, A2, and S% characters. Cluster analysis According to the Cluster analysis results of the UPGMA algorithm and Gower similarity index, the taxa are divided into three main groups (Figure 5). C. bre- vistyla, C. lupuliformis, C. palaestina, C. approximata, and C. campestris were group, C. kotschyana, C. plani- flora, C. babylonica, C. europea, C. kurdica had created a group. The C. hyalina species wholly separated from these groups were a group. As stated before, the fact that C. hyalina species spread in a local area directly corre- lates with the analysis result. DISCUSSION Cuscuta species show wide variation in chromosome numbers ranging from 2n = 8 to 2n = 60. Therefore, the genus is generally a polyploid complex resulting from two basic chromosome numbers x = 7 and x = 15 (Pazy & Plitmann, 1995; Hunziker, 1949-50). The first step in combating parasitic plants is their correct diagnosis, as with other weeds. Due to the lack of true root and leaf structure of dodder, diagnosis is mainly made according to flower and fruit characteris- tics. These features are sometimes insufficient for diag- nosis. Diagnosis of this genus is problematic in the World and Turkey. Therefore, determining the chromo- some number and chromosomal morphology of the spe- cies belonging to this genus is of great importance in determining the systematic location of the species, iden- tifying the species, and, when necessary, agriculturally struggling with these species. According to the karyo- type analysis results of Cuscuta taxa, the primary chro- mosome number was determined as x=7. Among the study samples, C. brevistyla is polyploid, C. campestris, C. hyalina, C. approximata, C. lupuliformis, C. palaesti- na tetraploid, and other taxa are diploid. According to the total length of chromosomes, The species with the longest chromosome length is C. lupuli- formis, with 6.96 Mμ lengths. This species was morpho- logical; C. campestris, with a total chromosome length of 2.48 Mμ was determined to be the shortest chromo- Figure 2. Shapiro - Wilk normality test(p=0.4809>0.05)-Residual plot. Table 4. One way ANOVA test results. Test for equal means Sum of sqrs df Mean square F p (same) Between groups: 45343.3 16 2833.96 351.6 8.149E-179 Within groups: 2329.64 289 8.06104 Permutation p (n=99999) Total: 47672.9 305 1E-05 omega2: 0.9483 153Comparative karyological analysis of some Turkish Cuscuta L. (Convolvulaceae) some length. The chromosome number of C. campes- tris was first determined by Ward(1984) as 2n=28; later, Aryavand and García & Castroviejo (1987) 2n=56; Kha- toon & Ali(1993) determined it as 2n=14, 28. Accord- ing to our research results, the chromosome number of the species is 2n=28. It has been shown that the haploid karyotype formula is 10m+2sm +2M. The morphometric characteristics of the species were first revealed in this study. Singh and Roy(1970). collected C. hyalina from India; The chromosome number of the species is 2n=30; Vu et al. determined as 2n=28. According to our study results, the chromosome number of the species is 2n=28. The haploid karyotype formula is 10m+4M. This study first revealed the chromosome number and morpho- metric characteristics of C. kotschyana species. Chromo- some number 2n=14; Haploid karyotype formula; It has 4 median regions (m), 2 points median (M), and 1 sub- median region (cm) region (Figure 6). Figure 3. Correlation analysis between karyotype characteristics. Figure 4. PCA analysis scatter plot (same colors are the same subgenus). 154 Neslihan Taşar et al. Pazy and Plitmann (2002) determined the chro- mosome number of C. babylonica as 2n=8, where they specified Israel as the locality. However, according to our research results, the chromosome number of the species is 2n=14, and the haploid karyotype formula is 4m + 2 cm + 1M. The chromosome number of the C. europaea spe- cies was previously reported by Albers and Pröbst- ing(1998) and García and Castroviejo(2003) as 2n=14. Our research data also confirm this result. The haploid karyotype formula of the species, in which we found the chromosome number as 2n=14, is 5m + 2 cm. Regarding chromosome number and morphology, the chromosome number of C. kurdica species, which was first discussed in this study, was determined as 2n=14. The haploid karyotype formula is 3m + 3 cm + 1 M. Pazy and Plitman (1994) and Feinbrun and Taub(1978) found the chromosome number of C. brevi- styla as 2n=42, where they specified Israel as a locality. According to our study results, the chromosome number of this species is 2n=42. The haploid karyotype formula is 15m + 3 cm + 3 M. The chromosome number of C. planiflora has been determined by many researchers. Singh and Roy deter- mined the chromosome number of this species as 2n=14; Pazy and Plitmann. (1991) 2n=14; García and Castroviejo. (2003) 2n=26, 28; Aryavand(1987) reported 2n=28 and Vasudevan 2n=14. As a result of our research, the chro- mosome number of the species was determined as 2n=14. The haploid karyotype formula was 4m + 1 cm + 2 M. C. approximata; García and Castroviejo (2003) and Guerra(2004). 2n=28 chromosomes have reported it. Our studies also confirm this result, and the chromosome number of this species is 2n=28. The haploid karyotype formula is 10m + 1 cm + 3M.. The chromosome number of C. lupuliformis was determined as 2n=28 by Vasudevan. According to our research results, the chromosome number of this species is 2n=28. The haploid karyotype formula is 9m + 1 cm + 4M. Plazy and Plitmann (1991) showed the C. palaestina species as 2n=28 chromosomes. Our research confirms this result. We found the chromosome number of 2n = 28 of this species. The haploid karyotype formula is 7m + 4 cm + 3M. Various karyological studies have been carried out on the chromosome number of species belonging to the Cuscuta genus. As a result of these studies, the Chromo- some number of Cuscuta japonica Choisy. species is 2n= 32 (Leusova et al., 2005); the Chromosome number of Cuscuta epithymum L. species is 2n= 14 (Montgomery et al., 2003); the chromosome number of Cuscuta australis R. Br. species is 2n=56 (Yeh et al., 1995); Chromosome Figure 5. Cluster analysis according to karyotype characteristics Show that 3 main groups (Same colored taxa are located in the same sec- tion). 155Comparative karyological analysis of some Turkish Cuscuta L. (Convolvulaceae) number of Cuscuta triumvirati Lange. Species 2n= 14 (García et al., 2003); Chromosome number of Cuscuta pentagona Engelm. is 2n= 44 (Pazy et al., 1995); The chromosome number of Cuscuta pedicellata Ledeb. spe- cies was determined as 2n= 10 (Pazy et al., 1991), and the chromosome number of Cuscuta chinensis Lam. spe- cies was determined as 2n= 60 (Mesĭcek et al., 1995). According to cluster analysis, taxa were divided into 3 main groups. It is noteworthy that although C. camp- estris and C. hyalina are in the Grammica subgenus, they are in different groups according to chromosome micromorphological data. Here, it is estimated that some chromosomal features (According to PCA, such as TLC) may have differentiated over time, as the C. hyalina spe- cies was distributed in a local region in Turkey. It is seen that C. babylonica and C. europea species in the Cus- cuta subgenus and C. kurdica species are closely related. According to their morphological similarities, C. euro- pea and C. kurdica species show very close similarities. According to PCA, the most important character explaining the differentiation between taxa was seen as TLC (Total Lenght of Chromosomes) character. In addi- tion, when the distribution of taxa in the diagram is examined, it is a compatible image with cluster analysis. In this study, 11 species belonging to the genus Cus- cuta, an essential part of Turkey’s biological richness and consists of parasitic plants, were discussed in detail in terms of chromosome number and chromosome mor- phology and compared statistically. These karyological studies reveal the karyological differences and similari- Figure 6. Haploid idiogram in Cuscuta taxa 1. C. campestris, 2. C. hyalina, 3. C. kotschyana, 4. C. babylonica, 5. C. europaea 6. C. kurdica, 7. C. brevistyla, 8. C. planiflora, 9. C. approximata, 10. C. lupuliformis 11. 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