In the last few years much research has been conducted on topics such us self-incompatibility, hybrid zones and polyploidy. We chose Senecio carniolicus, a perennial alpine Asteraceae, as our model organism. The species was previously believed to be exclusively hexaploid while recently the existence of altogether three main cytotypes (diploids, tetraploids and hexaploids) was discovered. The different cytotypes often coexist in the same area; nevertheless hybrids are almost nonexistent.

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... ately, part of the planned experiment was not realizable, because the plants suffered from the changed environmental conditions after bringing them from their natural habitat to the experimental garden in Merano. Therefore we carried out some more work in the lab with fixed material and used these results following Cruden's hypothesis that the breeding system of a species can be determined from the pollen/ovule ratio. Furthermore, it was possible to show that different cytotypes occupy different habitats. With this thesis I touched some interesting research-topics, with a lot of unanswered questions. At the Botanical Institute of the University of Vienna a large international research project started in 2008 with the aim to detect the different isolating mechanisms und the origin of the three different cytotypes of S. carniolicus.