Cytogenetic studies on nine genotypes of Phaseolus vulgaris L. cultivated in Egypt in relation to zinc efficiency

This investigation deals with variations in karyotype features, nuclear DNA content and nuclear volume in nine genotypes of Phaseolus vulgaris that show different adaptations to Zinc Deficiency (ZD). In addition, this study addresses the correlation between chromosome length, nuclear DNA amount and nuclear volume on one hand and the capacity of the examined genotypes to tolerate Zn deficiency on the other hand. It was found that Zn Efficiency (ZE) genotypes have the longer chromosomes, higher amounts of DNA content and larger nuclear volume than ZD genotypes.