Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Manipulation of Ploidy in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: March 15, 2018
Is there a relationship between polyploidy and stressful environments? A case study of inselbergs in northeastern
S R Pitrez1, L A Andrade1, F N M Assis2
1Laboratório de Citogenética Vegetal, Departamento de Fitotecnia, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, PB, Brasil.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that plants with higher ploidy levels are selected by environments under more extremely stressful conditions than the same (or closely related) species from less rigorous terrestrial or epiphytic habitats. Therefore, we analyzed the chromosome numbers of 26 species belonging to 21 genera and 13 families of angiosperms that were collected on 4 inselbergs in Paraiba State, northeastern Brazil. In addition, 13 rupicolous species that grow in the study area, whose chromosome numbers were previously determined, were included in our analysis. Plant chromosome numbers varied between 2n = 12 in Callisia filiformis (Commelinaceae) to 2n = ca. 240 in Epidendrum cinnabarinum (Orchidaceae). The data as a whole do not support the hypothesis that inselberg species have greater levels of ploidy than terrestrial or epiphytic populations of the same or closely related species because these rupicolous species demonstrate chromosomal evolution patterns that are independent of the stressful environments of inselberg formations.
Related Concept Videos
Formation of Species
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Frequency-dependent Selection
Meiosis I
Prophase I is the most extended and complex step of meiosis I characterized by synapsis, chromosome pairing, and recombination of the homologous chromosomes. This process is facilitated by a proteinaceous structure called the...
Nondisjunction
Conservation of Small Populations

