Abstract
Morpho-phenological and meiotic studies were performed in twelve cultivars of Matthiola incana. All of the cultivars were diploid (2n = 2x = 14) with basic chromosome number x = 7. A number of aneuploid PMCs (n + 1) were observed in plants of two cultivars, named ‘Nobel’ (NB) and ‘Goddess’ (GD), at the diakinesis stage. Trisomic individuals with the frequency of 20% and 5% and (2n + 1 = 15) somatic chromosomes were observed in seeds obtained from single-flowered plants of the cultivars NB and GD, respectively. An additional chromosome was mostly observed in the form of a chain trivalent or a rod univalent. Various meiotic abnormalities were found in all the cultivars to different degrees. In these cultivars, the percentage of cells with meiotic abnormalities was higher in anaphase I. Cytomixis was observed for the first time in Matthiola incana. ANOVA tests revealed significant differences in morpho-phenological characteristics. ‘Nobel’ differs from the others in all of the vegetative features investigated in this study. All the cultivars studied except ‘Nobel’ and ‘Pacific Crimson’ possessed high pollen fertility (> 90%). Five groups of the cultivars based on morpho-phenological features disagree with the clustering of cultivars based on meiotic traits. It is thought that the various morpho-phenological features observed among the cultivars could be due to their different genetic background and not only to meiotic anomalies.