MORPHOLOGY AND CHROMOSOME NUMBERS OF Gongronema latifolia BENTH. CLONES FROM NIGERIA

Cytological studies on the root-tips of four clones of Gongronema latifolia Benth. were conducted to identify cross-compatible clones for possible improvement through hybridisation. The results showed that the diploid chromosomes number in G. latifolia was 2n = 16. Clones, IMS-20-NJIABA, AKS-33-EKPENE EDIENE, ANS38-AWKA and ENS-47-MBU used in the study had 2n = 16, 2n = 16, 2n = 24 and 2n = 20 chromosomes, respectively. This showed that ANS-38-AWKA and ENS-47-MBU are polyploids. Chromosomes were metacentric and submetacentric, with only a pair of subtelocentric chromosome in ANS-38-AWKA. Chromosome lengths ranged from 4.03 to 4.28 μm, and were generally of the B-size. The F values ranged from 21.76 to 49.87%. Chromosomal variations among the clones suggest presence of high levels of cross incompatibility between clones that are not of the same ploidy level. Hence, only clones IMS-20-NJIABA and AKS-33-EKPENE EDIENE that are of the same ploidy level will be cross compatible.