ABSTRACT

Lettuce (Lactuca saliva L.) is an annual, self-fertile species of the family Asteraceae (formerly Compositae). The genus Lactuca contains approximately 100 species with 17 European, approximately 10 American, 33 tropical East African, and about 40 Asian species. Lactuca sativa L. is classified in section Lactuca, subsection Lactuca. L. serriola L. (1). The chromosome number for this diploid species is 2n=2x=18, the haploid genome size can be calculated from 4C deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) values (10.6-11.2 pg) as 2.56-2.7×109 bp (2).