Chromosome Numbers and ITS Sequences of Genus Leontopodium in Korea

초록

The genus Leontopodium is well known for "Edelweiss"．The taxonomy of Korean Leontopodium is controversial．In this study, the somatic chromosome number of four Korean species were investigated．Furthermore, the ITS regions of nrDNA was sequenced to address phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic position of Korean Leontopodium．The chromosome numbers of the taxa were 2n=24, 28．The chromosome number of 2n=24 for L．leiolepis was reported here for the first time．The chromosome number of 2n=28 in L．hallaisanense reported here verified previous report, while the chromosome numbers of L．leontopodioides（2n=24） and L．japonicum（2n=28）were different from the previous study．The colmplete sequences of the ITS region（632bp）were determined for 9 individuals of four Leontopodium species in Korea．Except L．japonicum, There was no differences in ITS sequences among populations of the same species．Each species having chromosome number of 2n=24 or 2n=28 formed a clades in ITS tree．The phylogenetic relationships and speciation in Korean Leontopodium were discussed based on ITS sequences and chromosome numbers.