Estimation of Nuclear Genome Size of Important Medicinal Plant Species From Western Himalaya Using Flow Cytometry

Nuclear DNA content of five medicinally important plants from Western Himalaya viz. Podophyllum hexandrum, Valeriana jatamansi, Angelica glauca, Picrorhiza kurroa and Hedychium spicatum, was analyzed using Flow cytometer. Preparation of nuclei suspensions, stoichiometric DNA staining and the use of DNA reference standards were standardized for each plant species according to the nature of plant material and the genome size. The standardized preparation method is convenient and rapid, for ploidy screening, detection of mixoploidy and aneuploidy, cell cycle analysis, assessment of the degree of polysomaty, determination of reproductive pathway, and estimation of DNA amount or genome size variation among and between the populations.