Intrachromosomal karyotype asymmetry in Orchidaceae Enoque Medeiros-Neto1, Felipe Nollet1, Ana Paula Moraes2,3 and Leonardo P. Felix1 1Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Citogenética Vegetal, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus II, Areia, PB, Brazil. 2Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. 3Instituto de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil. Abstract The asymmetry indexes have helped cytotaxonomists to interpret and classify plant karyotypes for species delimita- tion efforts. However, there is no consensus about the best method to calculate the intrachromosomal asymmetry. The present study aimed to compare different intrachromosomal asymmetry indexes in order to indicate which are more efficient for the estimation of asymmetry in different groups of orchids. Besides, we aimed to compare our re- sults with the Orchidaceae phylogenetic proposal to test the hypothesis of Stebbins (1971). Through a literature re- view, karyotypes were selected and analyzed comparatively with ideal karyotypes in a cluster analysis. All karyotypes showed some level of interchromosomal asymmetry, ranging from slightly asymmetric to moderately asymmetric. The five tested intrachromosomal asymmetry indexes indicated Sarcoglottis grandiflora as the species with the most symmetrical karyotype and Christensonella pachyphylla with the most asymmetrical karyotype. In the cluster analysis, the largest number of species were grouped with the intermediary ideal karyotypes B or C. Con- sidering our results, we recommend the combined use of at least two indexes, especially Ask% or A1 with Syi, for cytotaxonomic analysis in groups of orchids. In an evolutionary perspective, our results support Stebbins’ hypothesis that asymmetric karyotypes derive from a symmetric karyotypes. Keywords: Asymmetry index, karyotype symmetry, chromosome, cytogenetic, evolution. Received: October 03, 2016; Accepted: December 19, 2016. Introduction The karyotype is the first phenotypic expression of the genotype and provides an overview of the organization of the genetic material in the chromosome (Guerra, 2008). Among the information that can be extracted from karyo- types, i.e. number and morphology of the chromosomes, di- versity of heterochromatic bands, gene location, etc., a very peculiar characteristic stands out: the karyotype asymme- try, which is the subject of long debates. Changes in karyo- type symmetry often involve modifications in chromosome size and morphology usually caused by DNA sequence expansions or deletions or by centric fusion/fissions (ac- companied by disploidy) (Weiss-Schneeweiss and Schne- eweiss, 2013). The search for an index that reflected the karyotype asymmetry started with Lewitsky (1931) and was followed by Huziwara (1962), Arano (1963), Stebbins (1971), and many other authors (for a detailed discussion see Peruzzi and Ero�lu, 2013). For a long time, these indexes were em- ployed by many cytogeneticists and cytotaxonomists to discuss the taxonomic relationships among related species (Dematteis, 1998; D’Emerico et al., 1999; Selvi et al., 2006; Felix et al., 2007; Peruzzi et al., 2009; Souza et al., 2010). Stebbins (1971) suggested that asymmetric karyo- types were originated from symmetrical ones, which has not been properly tested until now. The existing indexes are separated into two groups: interchromosomal asymmetry indexes, which quantify the heterogeneity in chromosome size, and intrachromosomal asymmetry indexes, which quantify the relative differences in the centromere position among chromosomes of a com- plement (Stebbins, 1971; Peruzzi and Ero�lu, 2013). Among the interchromosomal asymmetry indexes, A2 (Ro- mero-Zarco, 1986) and CVCL (Paszko, 2006) are the most used due to their accuracy in the evaluation of chromosome dissimilarities (Chiarini and Barboza, 2008; Souza et al., 2010; Pierozzi, 2011; Alves et al., 2011; Assis et al., 2013). However, there is no consensus about the best method for calculating the intrachromosomal asymmetry (Romero- Zarco, 1986; Peruzzi and Ero�lu, 2013). Genetics and Molecular Biology, 40, 3, 610-619 (2017) Copyright © 2017, Sociedade Brasileira de Genética. Printed in Brazil DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1678-4685-GMB-2016-0264 Send correspondence to Felipe Nollet. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Citogenética Vegetal, Centro de Ciên- cias Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus II, 58.397-000 Areia, PB, Brazil. E-mail: nolletmedeiros@ya- hoo.com.br Research Article gmb-40-3.pdf 60gmb-40-3.pdf 60 8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM Among the proposed intrachromosomal asymmetry indexes, the following stand out: The four categories of Stebbins (1971): from A to D according to the proportion of acrocentric and/or telo- centric chromosomes in a karyotype, i.e. proportion of chromosomes with a ratio between chromosome arms < 2:1. The four categories have subtypes 1 to 3 according to the ratio between the large/small chromosome arms, giving a total of 12 categories (Table 1). The total form percentage (TF%; Huziwara, 1962): ratio between the sum of the short arms (p) length and the sum of the total chromosomes length: TF% = �p/�total karyotype length The karyotype asymmetry index percentage (Ask%; Arano, 1963): ratio between the length of the long arms (q) of the chromosome set and the total length of the chro- mosome set: Ask% = �q/�total karyotype length The symmetric index (Syi; Greilhuber and Speta, 1976): ratio between the average length of the short arms (p) and the average length of the long arms, multiplied by 100: Syi = (�mean of p length/�mean of q length) 100 The intrachromosomal asymmetry index A1 (Rome- ro-Zarco 1986): sum of the ratio between the average length of the short arms in each homologous pairs (bi) and the average length of the long arms in each homologous pair (Bi) divided by the number of homologous chromo- some pairs (n): A 1 � � 1 ( )b /B n i ii= n 1 This proposal was later modified by Watanabe et al. (1999), who created the asymmetry index A, and followed by Peruzzi and Ero�lu (2013), who called the same index MCA. This index results from the sum of the ratio between the differences in the long arm length (Bi) and the short arm length (bi) of each chromosome and the sum of the lengths of the long and short arms of each chromosome (Bi + bi). The sum is divided by the haploid chromosome number (n): A � � ( / )B b B b n i i i ii= n 1 The coefficient of variation of the centromeric index CVCI (Paszko, 2006): based on the index of interchro- mosomal asymmetry A2 (standard deviation/total average of the chromosome length): CVCI = A2 100 With so many ways to calculate the intrachromo- somal asymmetry, Zuo and Yuan (2011) developed six models of ideal karyotypes to test the accuracy of these methods. These authors observed that the CVCI does not re- flect the intrachromosomal asymmetry in karyotypes when it is composed by telocentric and/or acrocentric chromo- somes. Since the standard deviation decreases in acrocen- tric or telocentric chromosomes, the CVCI is more suitable to indicate the heterogeneity of the centromeric index, i.e. how different is the position of the centromeres among the chromosomes of the complement (see Zuo and Yuan, 2011). Peruzzi and Ero�lu (2013) discouraged the use of any intrachromosomal asymmetry index for karyotypes with small chromosomes (� 1 �m), due to the inaccuracy in the arms’ measurement. However, the mean chromosome size in plants is 1.5–2.0 �m. Moreover, if the suggestion of Peruzzi and Ero�lu (2013) is followed, the chromosome symmetry analysis will be prohibitive in a large number of plant species, including a great part of Bromeliaceae, Fabaceae and Orchidaceae species. Considered one of the most diverse and taxonomi- cally complex plant families among the angiosperms, Orchidaceae comprises 25,971 species with global distri- bution (Pridgeon et al., 1999; Joppa et al., 2011). The Orchidaceae present a large karyotype variation, with all types of chromosome morphology distributed in species with chromosome numbers varying from 2n = 12 in Erycina pusilla (L.) N.H.Williams & M.W.Chase (Felix and Guerra, 1999) to 2n = 240 in Epidendrum cinnabarinum Salzm. ex Lindl. (Guerra, 2000; Felix and Guerra, 2010; Assis et al., 2013). Except for the subfamily Cypripedioideae, Orchidaceae species are characterized by small chromosomes (Larsen, 1968; Okada, 1988). Medeiros-Neto et al. 611 Table 1 - Intrachromosomal asymmetry indexes. The total of 12 indexes is composted of the four categories of Stebbins (1971) - A to D according to the proportion of acrocentric and/or telocentric chromosomes in a karyotype - and subtypes 1 to 3 according to the ratio between the large/small chromosome arms in each of these. Ratio: largest/smallest chromosomes Proportion of chromosomes with arm ratio < 2:1 0.0 0.01 – 0.5 0.51 – 0.99 1.0 < 2 : 1 1 A 1 B 1 C 1 D 2:1 – 4:1 2 A 2 B 2 C 2 D > 4:1 3 A 3 B 3 C 3 D gmb-40-3.pdf 61gmb-40-3.pdf 61 8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM The wide karyotype diversity observed in Orchidaceae makes this plant family an excellent group for evaluating the applicability of karyotype asymmetry in- dexes, especially the intrachromosomal index. Thus, the present study aimed to compare different intrachro- mosomal asymmetry indexes, in order to indicate the most efficient for the estimation of karyotype asymmetry in or- chids, including species with small chromosomes. Besides, we aimed to compare our results with the Orchidaceae phylogenetic proposal to test the hypothesis of Stebbins (1971) that asymmetric karyotypes derived from symmet- ric ones. Material and Methods Chromosome measurements A literature search was performed to select informa- tive photographic records of metaphases quality – clear identification of centromere and secondary constrictions – and the available voucher (Table 2). The arm ratio (r = length of the long arm/length of the short arm) was used to classify the chromosomes as metacentric (M: r = 1.00 to 1.49), submetacentric (S: r = 1.50 to 2.99), acrocentric (A: r � 3.00) and telocentric (T: r = �), according to Guerra (1986). We did not consider dif- ferences between acrocentric and telocentric chromoso- mes. For chromosome measurements we used Imagetool® software version 3.0 (available at http://compdent.uthscsa.edu/dig/itdesc.html) calibrated with scales available on the selected images. The interchromosomal asymmetry was calculated us- ing A2 by Romero-Zarco (1986). Five different indexes were estimated for the intrachromosomal asymmetry: TF% (Huziwara, 1962); Ask% (Arano, 1963); Syi (Greihuber and Speta, 1976); A1 (Romero-Zarco, 1986); and A (Wata- nabe et al., 1999). In addition, the ideal karyotypes (Zuo and Yuan, 2011) were used to establish a comparative stan- dard for the analyzed karyotypes. The ideal karyotypes, ranked from A to F, present chromosome morphology based on Levan et al. (1964). However, here we followed the nomenclature proposed by Guerra (1986) based on the percentage of acrocentric/telocentric chromosomes: (1) up to 30% (slightly asymmetric - SA); (2) from 31 to 50% (moderately asymmetric - MA) and (3) more than 50% (strongly asymmetric - StA). Cluster analysis The intrachromosomal index values were separately used for cluster analysis. The obtained values were catego- rized and used to define the limits of each category (Table S1). For the cluster analysis we used the UPGMA algo- rithm (unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means) implemented in the software Mesquite® (Maddison and Maddison, 2015). Ten trees were generated for each in- dex using the distances from the data matrix by majority consensus. Subsequently, only one consensus tree was stored. The software Dendroscope® (Huson and Scorna- vacca, 2012) was used to root the tree with the most ideal symmetrical karyotype (karyotype A) as an outgroup, fol- lowing the hypothesis of Stebbins (1971). Statistical analysis To test the hypothesis of Stebbins (1971), the mean values of the interchromosomal index A2 and the intra- chromosomal asymmetry indexes were separately used, in order to compare the karyotype asymmetry levels for each subfamily. The variation between the mean values of asym- metry indexes for the subfamilies was compared statisti- cally by ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test using BioEstat v.5.3 (Ayres et al., 2007). Results Karyomorphometric analysis The metaphases of 64 species, distributed throughout four subfamilies (Cypripedoideae, Epidendroideae, Orchidoideae and Vanilloideae) were selected across 16 references (Table 2). No karyotype analysis was found for Apostasioideae. Chromosome numbers ranged from 2n = 12 in Erycina pusilla (Epidendroideae) to 2n = 56 in Eurystyles actinosophila (Barb. Rodr.) Schltr (Orchidoideae). The Campylocentrum neglectum (Rchb.f. & Warm.) Cogn. (Epidendroideae) presented the smallest chromosomes, ranging from 0.62 �m to 1.20 �m, while Paphiopedilum randsii Fowlie (Cypripedioideae) pre- sented the largest chromosomes, ranging from 10.74 �m to 22.48 �m (Table 2). The total sum of haploid chromosome length (hcl) ranged from 27.78 �m in Pabstiella fusca (Lindl.) Chiron & Xim.Bols. (Epidendroideae) to 395.88 �m in Paphiopedilum dianthum Tang & F.T.Wang (Cypripedioideae) (Table 2). Regarding interchromosomal asymmetry (A2), the most symmetric karyotype was found in Christensonella pumila (Hook.) Szlach. (A2 = 0.12), while the most asym- metrical were found in Cephalanthera damasonium (Mill.) Druce and Pteroglossa lurida (M.N.Correa) Garay (A2 = 0.60; see Table 2). However, when comparing the subfa- milies, the statistical test failed to show any difference (F = 1.6526, p = 0.1988; Figure 1). The five tested intrachromosomal asymmetry indexes provided the same result: the most symmetric karyotype was found in Sarcoglottis grandiflora (Hook.) Klotzsch (44M + 2S; see bold numbers in Table 2) and the most asymmetric karyotype was found in Christensonella pachyphylla (Schltr. ex Hoehne) Szlach., (20S + 18A; see underlined numbers in Table 2). 612 Intrachromosomal asymmetry gmb-40-3.pdf 62gmb-40-3.pdf 62 8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM Medeiros-Neto et al. 613 T a b le 2 - K ar yo m or ph om et ri c da ta fo r th e re pr es en ta ti ve s of th e fa m il y O rc hi da ce ae an d re sp ec ti ve re fe re nc es ,w it h di pl oi d ch ro m os om e nu m be r (2 n ), ka ry ot yp e fo rm ul a, ch ro m os om e si ze va ri at io n (� m ), to ta l su m of th e ha pl oi d ch ro m os om e le ng th (h cl ), th e in te rc hr om os om al in de x (I nt er In de x) by R om er o- Z ar co (A 2) ,a nd th e in tr ac hr om os om al in de xe s: H uz iw ar a in de x (T F % ), A ra no in de x (A sk % ), G re il hu be r an d S pe ta in de x (S yi ), R om er o- Z ar co (A 1) an d W at an ab e in de x (A ). T he bo ld an d un de rl in ed nu m be rs in di ca te th e m os t sy m m et ri ca l an d as ym m et ri c ka ry ot yp es fo r ea ch in de x, re sp ec ti ve ly . T ax a R ef er en ce s* 2n K ar yo ty pe fo rm ul a C hr om os om e si ze va ri at io n (� m ) hc l In te r In de x In tr ac hr om os om al In de x A 2 T F % A sk % S yi A 1 A C yp ri pe di oi de ae P a p h io p ed il u m d ia n th u m T an g & F .T .W an g L A 11 26 18 M + 8S 9. 34 - 22 .2 2 39 5. 88 0. 23 0. 41 0. 59 69 .0 6 0. 30 0. 18 P . em er so n ii K oo p. & P .J .C ri bb L A 11 26 20 M + 4S + 2A 5. 06 - 12 .5 6 20 4. 98 0. 24 0. 40 0. 60 66 .3 6 0. 31 0. 20 P . h a n g ia n u m P er ne r & O .G ru ss L A 11 26 22 M + 4S 9. 66 - 18 .1 1 32 5. 92 0. 20 0. 44 0. 56 80 .0 4 0. 18 0. 11 P . m ic ra n th u m T an g & F .T .W an g L A 11 26 16 M + 8S + 2A 7. 27 - 22 .4 7 29 6. 44 0. 35 0. 40 0. 60 66 .1 9 0. 28 0. 20 P . n iv eu m (R ch b. f. ) S te in L A 11 26 20 M + 6S 6. 46 - 18 .3 5 25 5. 90 0. 27 0. 45 0. 55 80 .9 9 0. 19 0. 11 P . ra n d si i F ow li e L A 11 26 18 M + 8S 10 .7 4 - 22 .4 8 37 7. 84 0. 24 0. 44 0. 56 78 .6 3 0. 21 0. 12 P . su kh a ku li i S ch os er & S en gh as L A 11 40 24 M + 16 S 6. 42 - 18 .8 4 39 1. 64 0. 31 0. 41 0. 59 69 .9 9 0. 30 0. 18 P . su p er b ie n s (R ch b. f. ) S te in [a s P . cu rt is ii (R ch b. f. ) S te in ] L A 11 36 22 M + 14 S 7. 33 - 20 .7 8 38 5. 86 0. 30 0. 40 0. 60 68 .0 6 0. 30 0. 19 P h ra g m ip ed iu m sa rg en ti a n u m (R ol fe ) R ol fe F G 05 22 14 M + 8S 2. 94 - 6. 49 10 0. 24 0. 28 0. 42 0. 58 73 .0 7 0. 27 0. 16 E pi de nd ro id ea e A ci a n th er a re cu rv a (L in dl .) P ri dg eo n & M .W .C ha se O L 15 52 38 M + 14 S 1. 08 - 2. 05 76 .7 8 0. 15 0. 44 0. 56 77 .2 0 0. 22 0. 13 B ra si li o rc h is g ra ci li s (L od d. ,G .L od d. & W .L od d. ) R .B .S in ge r, S .K oe hl er & C ar ne va li M O 12 40 19 M + 21 S 2. 39 - 4. 87 14 8. 92 0. 18 0. 40 0. 60 66 .8 1 0. 33 0. 20 B ra ss a vo la n o d o sa (L .) L in dl . F G 10 40 16 M + 24 S 1. 06 - 2. 11 63 .5 2 0. 15 0. 39 0. 61 64 .2 4 0. 35 0. 22 C a m p yl o ce n tr u m cr a ss ir h iz u m H oe hn e F G 10 38 12 M + 24 S + 2A 0. 87 - 1. 56 48 .5 6 0. 13 0. 37 0. 63 57 .5 3 0. 41 0. 27 C . n eg le ct u m (R ch b. f. & W ar m .) C og n. D A 09 38 20 M + 18 S 0. 62 - 1. 20 33 .6 4 0. 19 0. 40 0. 60 65 .9 1 0. 33 0. 21 C a ta se tu m p u ru m N ee s & S in ni ng F G 00 54 32 M + 22 S 0. 93 - 3. 09 93 .1 0 0. 25 0. 41 0. 59 69 .5 3 0. 29 0. 18 C a tt le ya b ra d ei (P ab st ) V an de n B er g [a s H o ff m a n n se g g el la b ra d ei (P ab st ) V .P .C as tr o & C hi ro n] Y 06 40 24 M + 16 S 1. 09 - 2. 53 75 .7 0 0. 16 0. 40 0. 60 67 .4 0 0. 32 0. 19 C . ce rn u a (L in dl .) V an de n B er g [a s S o p h ro n it is ce rn u a (L in dl .) L in dl .] D A 09 40 18 M + 16 S + 6A 0. 92 - 2. 41 63 .1 4 0. 25 0. 36 0. 64 56 .2 5 0. 39 0. 28 C ep h a la n th er a d a m a so n iu m (M il l. ) D ru ce M S 07 36 14 M + 14 S + 8A 2. 46 - 16 .0 21 9. 36 0. 60 0. 29 0. 71 40 .3 2 0. 44 0. 43 C . lo n g if o li a (L .) F ri ts ch M S 07 32 12 M + 16 S + 4A 2. 68 - 9. 82 14 6. 90 0. 47 0. 33 0. 67 50 .1 3 0. 40 0. 33 C . ru b ra (L .) R ic h. M S 07 44 14 M + 30 S 2. 43 - 12 .5 2 23 0. 94 0. 49 0. 36 0. 64 57 .0 7 0. 38 0. 27 C h ri st en so n el la p a ch yp h yl la (S ch lt r. ex H oe hn e) S zl ac h. (a s M a xi ll a ri a m a d id a va r. M o n o p h yl la C og n. ) K 08 38 20 S + 18 A 2. 17 - 4. 35 11 9. 86 0. 17 0. 26 0. 74 34 .3 6 0. 64 0. 49 C . p a ra n a en si s (B ar b. R od r. ) S .K oe hl er (a s M a xi ll a ri a h et er o p h yl la va r. P yg m a ea H oe hn e) K 08 36 20 M + 16 S 1. 92 - 3. 31 95 .2 8 0. 13 0. 40 0. 60 68 .0 2 0. 30 0. 19 C . p u m il a (H oo k. ) S zl ac h. K 08 36 16 M + 18 S + 2A 2. 02 - 3. 38 97 .7 8 0 .1 2 0. 37 0. 63 59 .4 9 0. 37 0. 25 C . su b u la ta (L in dl .) S zl ac h. [a s C . a ci cu la ri s (H er b. ex L in dl .) S zl ac h. ] K 08 38 4M + 20 S + 14 A 1. 90 - 3. 34 92 .8 0 0. 14 0. 28 0. 72 39 .2 3 0. 59 0. 44 D im er a n d ra em a rg in a ta (G .M ey .) H oe hn e F G 10 40 28 M + 12 S 0. 86 - 2. 14 60 .6 0 0. 20 0. 43 0. 57 75 .4 7 0. 24 0. 14 gmb-40-3.pdf 63gmb-40-3.pdf 63 8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM 614 Intrachromosomal asymmetry T ax a R ef er en ce s* 2n K ar yo ty pe fo rm ul a C hr om os om e si ze va ri at io n (� m ) hc l In te r In de x In tr ac hr om os om al In de x A 2 T F % A sk % S yi A 1 A E n cy cl ia fl a va (L in dl .) P or to & B ra de F G 10 40 10 M + 28 S + 2A 1. 31 - 3. 59 90 .5 4 0. 22 0. 37 0. 63 58 .1 2 0. 42 0. 26 E . o n ci d io id es (L in dl .) S ch lt r. F G 10 40 16 M + 22 S + 2A 1. 28 - 2. 71 75 .3 8 0. 16 0. 37 0. 63 59 .8 7 0. 39 0. 25 E p id en d ru m d en ti cu la tu m B ar b. R od r. A S 13 38 28 M + 6S + 4A 1. 0 - 3. 05 65 .4 6 0. 26 0. 43 0. 57 75 .4 7 0. 24 0. 14 E . fu lg en s B ro ng n. A S 13 24 14 M + 8S + 2A 1. 10 - 3. 01 36 .2 6 0. 29 0. 40 0. 60 68 .0 3 0. 32 0. 18 E . la ti la b re L in dl . F G 10 40 6M + 34 S 1. 10 - 2. 10 62 .6 2 0. 13 0. 36 0. 64 55 .6 9 0. 44 0. 28 E . p a n ic u la tu m R ui z & P av . A S 13 40 20 M + 16 S + 4A 1. 08 - 2. 26 66 .4 8 0. 17 0. 39 0. 61 64 .2 9 0. 34 0. 22 E ry ci n a p u si ll a (L .) N .H .W il li am s & M .W .C ha se [a s P sy g m o rc h is p u si ll a (L .) D od so n & D re ss le r] F G 99 12 8M + 4A 2. 85 - 5. 46 45 .9 0 0. 21 0. 34 0. 66 52 .2 1 0. 39 0. 31 M o rm o ly ca ru fe sc en s (L in dl .) M .A .B la nc o (a s M a xi ll a ri a ru fe sc en s L in dl .) F G 00 40 30 M + 10 S 1. 04 - 2. 02 62 .9 8 0. 18 0. 42 0. 58 73 .5 5 0. 25 0. 15 P a b st ie ll a fu sc a (L in dl .) C hi ro n & X im .B ol s. O L 15 28 14 M + 14 S 0. 62 – 1. 32 27 .7 8 0. 17 0. 39 0. 61 65 .1 6 0. 32 0. 21 P ro st h ec h ea fr a g ra n s (S w .) W .E .H ig gi ns F G 10 40 18 M + 22 S 1. 04 - 2. 06 55 .8 2 0. 15 0. 39 0. 61 64 .3 2 0. 35 0. 22 S o b ra li a li li a st ru m L in dl . F G 10 48 34 M + 14 S 1. 51 - 4. 15 10 9. 52 0. 27 0. 43 0. 57 74 .2 0 0. 25 0. 15 S p ec kl in ia g ro b yi (B at em an ex L in dl .) F .B ar ro s O L 15 20 18 M + 2A 0. 88 - 2. 07 30 .6 6 0. 20 0. 45 0. 55 80 .5 7 0. 20 0. 11 S te li s sp . F G 10 32 12 M + 20 S 0. 73 - 1. 35 29 .3 8 0. 18 0. 38 0. 62 60 .4 0 0. 38 0. 25 T ri ch o ce n tr u m ce b o ll et a (J ac q. ) M .W .C ha se & N .H .W il li am s [a s O n ci d iu m ce b o ll et a (J ac q. ) S w .] F G 00 36 20 M + 14 S + 2A 1. 79 - 2. 91 79 .3 8 0. 14 0. 40 0. 60 66 .3 1 0. 31 0. 20 T . fu sc u m L in dl .( as T . co rn u co p ia e L in de n & R ch b. f. ) F G 00 20 8M + 12 S 2. 38 - 4. 87 73 .4 6 0. 21 0. 39 0. 61 64 .8 0 0. 33 0. 21 T . p u m il u m (L in dl .) M .W .C ha se & N .H .W il li am s (a s O n ci d iu m p u m il u m L in dl .) F G 00 30 19 M + 11 S 2. 47 - 6. 75 12 8. 94 0. 25 0. 41 0. 59 70 .4 5 0. 28 0. 17 X yl o b iu m fo ve a tu m (L in dl .) G .N ic ho ls on F G 00 40 26 M + 14 S 1. 84 - 3. 88 11 4. 84 0. 20 0. 41 0. 59 70 .6 4 0. 28 0. 17 Z yg o st a te s a ll en ia n a K ra en zl . D A 09 54 36 M + 18 S 1. 0 - 2. 72 80 .9 2 0. 27 0. 41 0. 59 70 .9 3 0. 26 0. 17 O rc hi do id ea e A sp id o g yn e ku cz yn sk ii (P or sc h) G ar ay D A 09 42 24 M + 18 S 0. 64 - 1. 46 45 .2 4 0. 15 0. 41 0. 59 69 .6 9 0. 29 0. 18 C yc lo p o g o n ca lo p h yl lu s (B ar b. R od r. ) B ar b. R od r. G R 13 28 22 M + 6S 1. 87 - 4. 01 70 .5 0 0. 20 0. 43 0. 57 76 .0 9 0. 23 0. 14 C . ch lo ro le u cu s B ar b. R od r. F G 05 36 32 M + 4S 1. 50 - 4. 80 91 .3 0 0. 30 0. 44 0. 56 79 .1 2 0. 19 0. 12 C . co n g es tu s (V el l. ) H oe hn e [a s B ea d le a co n g es ta (V el l. ) G ar ay ] M A 84 32 8M + 24 S 0. 86 - 2. 77 56 .5 6 0. 28 0. 37 0. 63 58 .0 5 0. 42 0. 27 C . el a tu s (S w .) S ch lt r. F G 05 28 24 M + 4S 1. 69 - 3. 39 65 .3 2 0. 18 0. 44 0. 56 78 .2 8 0. 21 0. 12 C . el a tu s (S w .) S ch lt r. G R 13 28 18 M + 10 S 1. 87 - 4. 26 75 .3 4 0. 19 0. 43 0. 57 75 .4 9 0. 23 0. 14 E lt ro p le ct ri s ca lc a ra ta (S w .) G ar ay & H .R .S w ee t M N 16 42 22 M + 18 S + 2A 1. 93 - 9. 79 12 2. 26 0. 53 0. 35 0. 65 54 .9 6 0. 36 0. 29 E . a ct in o so p h il a (B ar b. R od r. ) S ch lt r. D A 09 56 32 M + 20 S + 4A 1. 04 - 2. 02 77 .3 2 0. 17 0. 40 0. 60 66 .3 2 0. 32 0. 20 E u ry st yl es sp . M N 16 14 12 M + 2S 1. 63 - 3. 17 31 .4 0 0. 23 0. 45 0. 55 80 .9 8 0. 19 0. 11 H a b en a ri a b ic o rn is L in dl . B A 14 42 22 M + 20 S 3. 63 - 6. 83 21 4. 24 0. 13 0. 41 0. 59 68 .1 8 0. 31 0. 19 H . jo se p h en si s B ar b. R od r. M N 16 50 34 M + 2S + 14 A 1. 67 - 4. 97 16 1. 44 0. 29 0. 41 0. 59 68 .6 8 0. 33 0. 19 gmb-40-3.pdf 64gmb-40-3.pdf 64 8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM Cluster analysis for intrachromosomal indexes Cluster analysis using the values found for TF% grouped most species with the ideal karyotype C, the Sarcoglottis grandiflora with the ideal karyotype B and Christensonella pachyphylla with the ideal karyotype D (Figure S1). Ask% and A1 indexes presented identical trees (Figure S2) in the cluster analysis, with most species grouped with ideal karyotype B, plus a clade, separated into two groups: (1) a polytomy with the ideal karyotypes D, E and F and (2) a group with Christensonella pachyphylla, C. subulata (Lindl.) Szlach. and the ideal karyotype C. The cluster analysis for A and Syi also formed identical trees (Figure S3), similar to trees obtained with Ask% and A1 (Figure S2). A difference was found with Christensonella subulata, which was grouped with most species and the ideal karyotype B (instead of C). The indexes Ask% and A1 (Figure S2), and Syi and A (Figure S3) grouped Sarcoglottis grandiflora as a sister group of karyotype A. The indexes Ask%, A1, Syi and A provided more consis- tent groups (Figure 2), reflecting the species karyotype composition in the ideal karyotypes, as proposed by Zuo and Yuan (2011). Comparing the four most congruent intrachromoso- mal indexes, Ask%, A1, Syi and A, with the current pro- posed Orchidaceae phylogeny (Chase et al., 2015), all indexes presented similar mean and mode values for Orchidoideae and Cypripedioideae (Figure 3). Index A did not detected a difference among subfamilies, after Tuckey’s test (despite the F = 4.1420, p = 0.0203). The in- dexes Ask% and Syi indicated that karyotypes from Epidendroideae and Orchidoideae are more asymmetrical than Cypripedioideae - the most basal subfamily among the three (F = 4.4915 and 4.7008, respectively; p = 0.01 for both indexes). The A1 index suggested Epidendroideae as the most asymmetric karyotype among subfamilies (F = 5.77, p = 0.0054). Discussion The inter and intrachromosomal asymmetry values observed here corroborate previous studies, with a slight variation for some species, such as Epidendrum Medeiros-Neto et al. 615 T ax a R ef er en ce s* 2n K ar yo ty pe fo rm ul a C hr om os om e si ze va ri at io n (� m ) hc l In te r In de x In tr ac hr om os om al In de x A 2 T F % A sk % S yi A 1 A M es a d en el la cu sp id a ta (L in dl .) G ar ay M N 16 46 32 M + 12 S + 2A 1. 86 - 4. 38 10 6. 46 0. 21 0. 40 0. 60 68 .0 5 0. 28 0. 19 P el ex ia la xa (P oe pp .& E nd l. ) L in dl . M A 84 46 18 M + 28 S + 2A 0. 88 - 2. 63 56 .9 8 0. 27 0. 36 0. 64 56 .2 0 0. 41 0. 28 P . vi ri d is (C og n. ) S ch lt r. F G 05 46 36 M + 8S + 2A 1. 30 - 4. 72 92 .5 2 0. 30 0. 41 0. 59 70 .6 2 0. 25 0. 17 P re sc o tt ia p la n ta g in ea L in dl . M N 16 46 42 M + 4S 1. 20 - 2. 66 82 .3 8 0. 17 0. 45 0. 55 82 .3 1 0. 17 0. 10 P te ro g lo ss a lu ri d a (M .N .C or re a) G ar ay [a s E lt ro p le ct ri s lu ri d a (M .N .C or re a) P ab st ] M A 84 46 12 M + 32 S + 2A 0. 75 - 4. 32 52 .7 6 0. 60 0. 33 0. 67 49 .5 9 0. 43 0. 34 S a co il a la n ce o la ta (A ub l. ) G ar ay M N 16 46 40 M + 4S + 2A 1. 65 - 8. 34 10 9. 02 0. 46 0. 41 0. 59 70 .7 3 0. 21 0. 17 S a rc o g lo tt is g ra n d if lo ra (H oo k. ) K lo tz sc h M N 16 46 44 M + 2S 1. 42 - 3. 49 85 .1 2 0. 21 0. 47 0. 53 87 .3 7 0. 11 0. 07 V an il li oi de ae V a n il la p o m p o n a S ch ie de F G 05 32 10 M + 20 S + 2A 1. 04 - 3. 36 63 .2 6 0. 26 0. 37 0. 63 57 .8 8 0. 39 0. 27 *A S 13 = A ss is et a l. (2 01 3) ;B A 14 = B at is ta et a l. (2 01 4) ;D A 09 = D av iñ a et a l. (2 00 9) ;F G 99 = F el ix an d G ue rr a (1 99 9) ;F G 00 = F el ix an d G ue rr a (2 00 0) ;F G 05 = F el ix an d G ue rr a (2 00 5) ;F G 10 = F el ix an d G ue rr a (2 01 0) ;G R 13 = G ra bi el e et a l. (2 01 3) ;K 08 = K oe hl er et a l. (2 00 8) ;L A 11 = L an an d A lb er t( 20 11 ); M A 84 = M ar ti ne z (1 98 4) ;M N 16 = M ed ei ro s- N et o (u np ub li sh ed da ta ); M O 12 = M or ae s et a l. (2 01 2) ; M S 07 = M os co ne et a l. (2 00 7) ; O L 15 = O li ve ir a et a l. (2 01 5) ; Y 06 = Y am ag is hi (2 00 6, D oc to ra l T he si s, U ni ve rs id ad e E st ad ua l de C am pi na s, C am pi na s, S P ,B ra zi l) . Figure 1 - Interchromosomal index A2 values for Orchidaceae subfamily. For each subfamily the mean value (dot), the amplitude of variation (bar), the number of species analyzed and mode value (last two data in the paren- thesis, respectively) are presented. gmb-40-3.pdf 65gmb-40-3.pdf 65 8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM paniculatum Ruiz & Pav., E. fulgens Brongn. (Assis et al., 2013), Cyclopogon calophyllus (Barb.Rodr.) Barb.Rodr. and C. elatus (Sw.) Schltr. (Grabiele et al., 2013). There- fore, we can observe that the relationship between the two kinds of asymmetry (intra and interchromosomal) is not always unidirectional, but it is a result of complex rear- rangements that modify both the centromere position and the chromosome size in a karyotype. The interchromosomal index The A2 index employed here yielded values close to zero for some species, mainly in the subfamilies Epidendroideae and Orchidoideae. In such cases, the index reflects a conservation among chromosome size in the karyotype; other species, however, presented high A2 val- ues. The highly asymmetric karyotypes could be the result of chromosome rearrangements, what could also cause bimodality, as observed in Cephalanthera damasonium (Epidendroideae; Moscone et al., 2007) and Pteroglossa lurida (Orchidoideae; Martinez 1984), both with A2 = 0.60. The origin of bimodal karyotypes could be due to the loss of chromosome segments after polyploidy, resulting in the formation of smaller chromosomes (Weiss-Schneeweiss and Schneeweiss, 2013), or due to unequal translocations (Stebbins, 1971), differential amplification of heterochro- matic regions (de la Herrán et al., 2001), or even in the hy- bridization between species with different chromosome sizes. All these events increase the interchromosomal asymmetry by increasing the morphological discontinuities between chromosomes in a karyotype. The intrachromosomal indexes Regarding the intrachromosomal asymmetry, we showed that Orchidaceae karyotypes ranged from slightly asymmetric to moderately asymmetric. The intrachromo- somal asymmetry is defined by the presence of a greater number of acrocentric/telocentric chromosomes in relation to the metacentric and submetacentric ones, a consequence of changes in centromere position (Stebbins, 1971) – in which case the chromosome rearrangement could affect all 616 Intrachromosomal asymmetry Figure 2 - Ideograms of the ideal karyotypes A, B and C, as well as the most similar species, grouped by UPGMA, equally obtained by the in- dexes Ask%, A1, Syi and A. The numeric scale at the right side of the ideo- gram is given in micrometers (�m). Figure 3 - Intrachromosomal asymmetry values obtained by Ask% (blue), A1 (red), A (green) and Syi (orange) indexes for the Orchidaceae subfamily. The numeric scale at the right side indicates the mean value for the four intrachromosomal indexes. The Syi value was divided by 100. Subfamilies indicated by the same letters are not significantly different (Tukey test, p < 0.05). gmb-40-3.pdf 66gmb-40-3.pdf 66 8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM8/28/2017 3:37:29 PM chromosomes in the same way and even increase the karyo- type asymmetry. Therefore, the efficacy of the intrachro- mosomal asymmetry indexes is dependent on the precise identification of the centromere and a well-defined chro- mosome morphology, and not on chromosome size. The indexes Ask% and A1 proved to be more useful in deter- mining the intrachromosomal asymmetry, even in species with small chromosomes, like Campylocentrum neglectum. The extreme symmetry (ideal karyotype A) or the ex- treme asymmetry (ideal karyotype F) karyotypes are hardly found in nature. However, in the present analysis, an ex- treme of symmetric karyotype was found in Sarcoglottis grandiflora, grouped with the ideal karyotype A. Christensonella pachyphylla showed the most asymmetric karyotype, but this species was grouped with ideal karyo- types C and D and not with the extreme ideal karyotype F. The occurrence of asymmetric karyotypes is probably a consequence of chromosomal structural changes, espe- cially centric fusion/fission, a very common rearrangement in Orchidaceae (Pinheiro et al., 2009; Yamagishi-Costa and Forni-Martins, 2009; Assis et al., 2013; Moraes et al., 2012, 2013; 2016). Christensonella Szlach. presents a dys- ploidy variation (2n = 36 and 38) and the occurrence of centric fusion/fission is suggested as the main cause. This is illustrated by the double DAPI+ band holding the centro- mere in C. fernandiana, as the remainder species present just one DAPI+ band (Koehler et al., 2008; Moraes et al., 2012). The centric fusion/fission is suggested to be the cause of the frequent dysploidy in other genera in subtribe Maxillariinae (Moraes et al., 2012; 2016) and Orchidaceae (Pinheiro et al., 2009; Felix and Guerra, 2010; Assis et al., 2013). The same can be detected in other plant groups as the genus Tristagma Poepp. (as Ipheion Raf., Souza et al., 2010): Tristagma tweedieanum (Baker) Traub (2n = 14, karyotypic formula 14A, A1 = 0.86) and T. uniflorum (Lindl.) Traub (2n = 12, karyotypic formula = 2SM + 10A, A1 = 0.78), family Iridaceae (Goldblatt, 1990; Alves et al., 2011; Moraes et al., 2015), Asteraceae (Brachyscome Cass.; Watanabe et al., 1999) and Sapindaceae (Serjania Mill.; Coulleri et al., 2012). The Stebbins’ hypothesis The relationship between karyotype asymmetry and species evolution could be discussed based on intrachro- mosomal indexes, since the interchromosomal index does not differ among subfamilies. The intrachromosomal asymmetry indexes indicated the karyotypes of some repre- sentatives of the subfamily Epidendroideae as the most asymmetric – in agreement with the hypothesis of Stebbins (1971) that asymmetric karyotypes had been originated from symmetrical ones. Based on the statistical results and cluster analysis the congruent indexes Ask%, A1 and Syi indicated Epidendroideae as the most derivate subfamily, presenting the most asymmetrical karyotype, while the rep- resentatives of the subfamily Cypripedioideae have more symmetrical karyotypes. Conclusions Considering our results, the indexes Ask% (Arano, 1963), A1 (Romero-Zarco, 1986) and Syi are recommended for the estimation of intrachromosomal asymmetry in cyto- taxonomic studies, especially in a combined fashion. We showed that the critical point for the efficacy of an asym- metric index is the well-preserved chromosome morphol- ogy and precise definition of the centromere position – and not the size of chromosomes. 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Internet Resources Maddison WP and Maddison DR (2015) Mesquite: A modular system for evolutionary analysis. Version 3.02, http://mesquiteproject.org (April 10, 2016). Supplementary Material The following online material is available for this article: Table S1 - Asymmetry values for ideal karyotypes. Figure S1 - UPGMA analysis using the intrachromosomal asymmetry values from TF% index. Figure S2 - UPGMA analysis using the intrachromosomal asymmetry values from Ask% and A1 indexes. Figure S3 - UPGMA analysis using the intrachromosomal asymmetry values from Syi and A indexes. Associate Editor: Marcelo Guerra License information: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (type CC-BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original article is properly cited. Medeiros-Neto et al. 619 gmb-40-3.pdf 69gmb-40-3.pdf 69 8/28/2017 3:37:30 PM8/28/2017 3:37:30 PM http://www.scielo.br/pdf/gmb/v40n3/1415-4757-gmb-1678-4685-GMB-2016-0264-Suppl01.pdf http://www.scielo.br/pdf/gmb/v40n3/1415-4757-gmb-1678-4685-GMB-2016-0264-Suppl02.pdf http://www.scielo.br/pdf/gmb/v40n3/1415-4757-gmb-1678-4685-GMB-2016-0264-Suppl03.pdf http://www.scielo.br/pdf/gmb/v40n3/1415-4757-gmb-1678-4685-GMB-2016-0264-Suppl04.pdf