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Chromosome diminution and evolution of polyploid species in triticum

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Summary

  1. 1.

    The length of the chromosome complements of T. monococcum, Ae. speltoides var. ligustica and Ae. squarrosa, the donors of the A, B and D genomes respectively of T. aestivum, varied in the ratio 1.0 ∶ 1.24 ∶ 0.76. The proportion of the total lengths of the chromosomes belonging to the A, B and D genomes in the bread wheat variety Chinese Spring, as calculated from the data of Sears (1954), also falls into a similar ratio (1.0 ∶ 1.28 ∶ 0.84).

  2. 2.

    T. monococcum, T. dicoccum and T. aestivum differed in the proportion 1.0 ∶ 1.5 ∶ 2.0 as regards chromosome length and not as 1.0 ∶ 2.24 ∶

  3. 3.

    0 as would be expected from the additive value of the total chromosome length of the concerned genome donors.

  4. 3.

    The DNA content of individual nuclei in the species studied varied in proportion to chromosome length, thus indicating that the DNA content per unit length of chromosome is constant in the material studied.

  5. 4.

    The type of karyotype asymmetry in the different Triticum and Aegilops species was classified according to the scheme of Stebbins (1958). The diploid species had the most symmetrical and the hexaploids, the most asymmetrical karyotype. No prominent heterochromatic segment could be detected in any of the species.

  6. 5.

    The data indicate that a considerable degree of elimination of chromosomal material has taken place in tetraploid and hexaploid wheats subsequent to their origin. It is suggested that this might have been an important factor in the conversion of tetraploid and hexaploid wheats into functional diploids. A combination of the multivalent gene suppressor system and chromosome elimination appears to have led to a synthesis of the advantageous features of auto- and allo-polyploidy in tetraploid and hexaploid wheats.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India

    R. A. Pai, M. D. Upadhya, S. Bhaskaran & M. S. Swaminathan

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  1. R. A. Pai
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  2. M. D. Upadhya
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  3. S. Bhaskaran
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  4. M. S. Swaminathan
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Pai, R.A., Upadhya, M.D., Bhaskaran, S. et al. Chromosome diminution and evolution of polyploid species in triticum. Chromosoma 12, 398–409 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328933

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328933

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