A study of quantitative variations of nucleic acids in Gossypium

The DNA and RNA content of fifteen diploid species representing the six genomes of Gossypium were determined and compared statistically with one another. The DNA content of the species ranged from 59 to 199 μg per gram of seed embryo and followed the genomic pattern C, F, E, B, A, D, with respect to order of decreasing chromosomal size. There was, however, no distinct correlation between RNA content and species or genome grouping. The amphidiploids exhibited a DNA content intermediate between that of the A and D genomes.