Karyotype characterization of Argania spinosa (L.) Skeel (Sapotaceae)

3 pages, 1 figure.Argania spinosa (L.) Skeel is an endemic species from Southwest Morocco being the unique representative of the tropical Sapotaceae in this area. The cytology of this species is poorly known in spite of its great socio-economical and ecological interest in these arid and semi-arid zones. The objective of this work is to characterize the karyotype of A. spinosa species in somatic cells from root tips. Samples analyzed showed a karyotype constituted for ten pairs of chromosomes (2n = 2x = 20) and the putative karyotype proposed has been of four submetacentric and six metacentric pairs. The four submetacentric pairs were the longest with a mean total length between 1.14 and 1.69 μm and the total length of six metacentric pairs were between 0.59 and 1.03 μm.This work has been supported by grant A/6210/06 “Caractérisation biochimique et génomiques des morphotypes de l´arganier (Argania spinosa L. Skeels)” from the AECI (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional) of Spain.Peer reviewe