Minority cytotypes in European populations of the Gymnadenia conopsea complex (Orchidaceae) greatly increase intraspecific and intrapopulation diversity
2012
Abstract
We have shown that most Gymnadenia populations exhibit considerable cytogenetic (and, to a lesser degree, taxonomic) heterogeneity, which should be considered in any future research to avoid biases introduced by pooling data from coexisting but nonetheless cytogenetically distinct populations. We suggest that ongoing production of unreduced gametes in the majority (2x and 4x) cytotypes, together with their hybridization in contact zones, led to the establishment of the minority ploidies (3x, 5x and 6x).
All of the minority cytotypes occur only at low frequencies.