Karyotypic studies on Campanumoea (Campanulaceae)—endemic to China

Radix Campanumoeae (C. javanica Bl.) has been used in Miao herbal medicine to treat neurasthenia and consumptive disease for hundreds of years. Though Radix Campanumoeae shows great potential for utilization in medical studies, this herb crop has not been cultivated industrially in China. Many species in the Campanumoea genus are similar in phenotype; therefore, a karyotypic study would prove useful for clearly distinguishing Radix Campanumoeae from related species within the same genus, for germplasm preservation and for breeding Radix Campanumoeae. 10 accessions of four species in this genus and 5 accessions in 5 relative genera from SCSB were used for karyotype determination. The results showed a karyotype of 2n = 16 = 2m + 12sm + 1st in Campanumoea, and a karyotype of 2n = 18 = 6 m + 12sm in Cyclocodon. Based on the chromosome number and the karyotypic formula, we suggest that the Campanumoea genus can be divided into two genera, which is in agreement with results observed from pollen morphology and from homological usage in Chinese herbal medicine. The chromosome length in C. javanica subsp. javanica and C. javanica subsp. japonica Makino, ranged from 2.24 to 1.38 μm and 2.04 to 1.31 μm, respectively; and their haploid sets were almost identical (13.15 and 13.16 μm, respectively). This indicates that chromosomal rearrangements occur within chromosomes IV, V and VII without a net gain or loss of genetic material.