Molecular characterization and physical localization of highly repetitive DNA sequences from Brazilian Alstroemeria species.

Highly repetitive DNA sequences were isolated from genomic DNA libraries of Alstroemeria psittacina and A. inodora. Among the repetitive sequences that were isolated, tandem repeats as well as dispersed repeats could be discerned. The tandem repeats belonged to a family of interlinked Sau3A subfragments with sizes varying from 68-127 bp, and constituted a larger HinfI repeat of approximately 400 bp. Southern hybridization showed a similar molecular organization of the tandem repeats in each of the Brazilian Alstroemeria species tested. None of the repeats hybridized with DNA from Chilean Alstroemeria species, which indicates that they are specific for the Brazilian species. In-situ localization studies revealed the tandem repeats to be localized in clusters on the chromosomes of A. inodora and A. psittacina: distal hybridization sites were found on chromosome arms 2PS, 6PL, 7PS, 7PL and 8PL, interstitial sites on chromosome arms 2PL, 3PL, 4PL and 5PL. The applicability of the tandem repeats for cytogenetic analysis of interspecific hybrids and their role in heterochromatin organization are discussed.