The 2011 ASHS Annual Conference

Genome size has implications for molecular biology work, genomics, and overall successful implementation as a study organism. Relatively few monocot genome sizes have been reported outside the cereals lineage. Anthurium andreanum is an important horticultural cut flower crop from family Araceae in order Alismatales, a monocot lineage considered to have diverged from other monocots prior to the divergence of the cereals lineage. Currently, genome size data are only publicly available for two Anthurium species, revealing a nearly twofold size difference between them, and among them, genome sizes 3.5 to 7 times that of corn. Genome size evolution studies have revealed important lineage specific features associated with evolution of phenotypes under genetic control. We evaluated genome sizes for over two dozen Anthurium species and discuss these data in context of phylogenetic relationships in this genus.