BACKGROUND:Vaccinium is one of the largest genera (ca. 500 species) of Ericaceae, well known for its edible and ornamental uses. Although there is certain karyological knowledge, information about genome size (GS) is scarce in the genus. OBJECTIVE:The main goal is providing GS data for several Vaccinium species with prevalence in Europe and Western Asia and analysing global GS variation in the genus, considering available data and phylogenetic context. METHODS:New GS assessments were obtained by flow cytometry and chromosome counts were verified. Phylogenetic analyses (using nuclear ITS, and chloroplastic matK and ndhF) were performed by Bayesian inference and reconstruction of ancestral GS by maximum parsimony. RESULTS:We obtained GS data for five Vaccinium species (13 populations). Three species are reported for the first time. Values (2C) ranged between 1.16–1.47 pg at the diploid (2n = 24) and between 3.13–3.16 pg at the tetraploid (2n = 48) levels. The five species here investigated have been placed and analysed in a reconstructed phylogenetic background (including 68 taxa). CONCLUSIONS:GS values of Vaccinium can be considered “very small”. The preliminary reconstruction of ancestral GS would point to a reduction in Vaccinium, although more data is needed to establish global GS evolutionary trend in the genus.

中文翻译：

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有助于食用蓝莓（越橘属）基因组大小演变的知识

背景：牛痘是菊苣科最大的属（约500种）之一，以食用和观赏用途而闻名。尽管有一定的核学知识，但有关基因组大小（GS）的信息却很少。目的：主要目标是提供欧洲和西亚流行的几种牛痘菌种的GS数据，并考虑可用数据和系统发育背景，分析该属的全球GS变异。方法：通过流式细胞术获得新的GS评估，并验证染色体计数。系统发育分析（使用核ITS以及叶绿体matK和ndhF）通过贝叶斯推断和最大简约性重建祖先GS进行。结果：我们获得了五种越橘（13个种群）的GS数据。首次报道了三种。二倍体（2n = 24）的值（2C）在1.16–1.47 pg之间，四倍体（2n = 48）的值在3.13–3.16 pg之间。此处调查的五个物种已在重建的系统发育背景（包括68个分类单元）中进行了放置和分析。结论：牛痘的GS值可以认为是“非常小的”。尽管需要更多的数据来建立该属的全球GS进化趋势，但祖先GS的初步重建将表明牛痘的减少。