Nuclear DNA amount has been assessed in a set of 6 Mediterranean plant species including subshrubs, shrubs and trees (Dorycnium pentaphyllum Scop., Erica multiflora L., Fumana ericoides (L.) Webb, Globularia alypum L., Pinus halepensis Mill and Rosmarinus officinalis L.). Genome size values have been assessed by flow cytometry from plants growing in their natural habitats, in plots with a particular experimental design to measure the effects of drought and warming and also with different phosphorus (P) concentration in soil. 2C values have been fairly constant in all the species studied under all conditions. These results, which provide first records of DNA content in all the studied species except for P. halepensis, suggest that moderate changes in climate such as a 0.73°C warming or a drought consisting of 19% decrease in soil moisture on an average of 7 years and the consequent changes in the soil availability of such an essential element as P (ranging from 80 to 160 g/g) do not affect genome size stability, at least not by producing rapid and significant variations.

This work was subsidized by DGICYT (Spanish Government; projects CGL2004-04563-C02-02/BOS, CGL2004-01402/BOS, CGL2006-04025/BOS, CGL2007-64839-C02-01/BOS, CGL2007-64839-C02-02/BOS, including FEDER funding, and Consolider Ingenio Montes CSD2008-00040), by the European project NITROEUROPE (contract 017841), and by the Catalan government grant SGR2009-458.

8 páginas, 2 tablas, 1 figura.

Peer reviewed