PHENOPLASTICITY AND KARYOTYPING OF CONVOLVULUS ARVENSIS L., 1753 (SOLANALES, CONVOLVULACEAE) GENOTYPES

Convolvulus arvensis L., 1753 (Solanales, Convolvulaceae) is a cosmopolitan polymorphic perennial herb and one of 15 noxious crop weeds. The species has notable phenoplasticity among its populations. This study aimed to assess phenoplasticity in 20 morphologically distinct populations collected from the same habitat in Egypt to understand this feature in terms of chromosome number and karyotyping. A total of 55 morphological characters were studied, and the similarity values were assessed using Jaccard’s similarity coefficient. The morphological characters were distinguished into five groups with variations in chromosome counting and karyotyping. Accordingly, they were treated as genotypes. These genotypes include two distinct ploidy levels: tetraploids (2n = 32) and hexaploids (2n = 48). The hexaploid genotypes had a higher intrachromosomal asymmetry index A1 value than the tetraploids. Significant chromosomal differences among the studied genotypes were revealed through an ANOVA test, indicating that quantitative genomic alteration has an essential role in C. arvensis diversification. The study concluded that the studied phenoplasticity of the populations of this species was genetically controlled and not attributed to ecological factors. The importance of cytological studies in assessing the phenoplasticity of C. arvensis populations is highlighted in this study, especially for those grown in the same habitat.