Centromeric behaviour in wheat with high and low homoeologous chromosomal pairing.
Control of homoeologous chromosomal pairing in hexaploid wheat stems from a balance between a number of suppressor and promoter genes. This study used centromeric behaviour as a tool to investigate the mechanism. Fluorescent in situ hybridization employing centromeric and telomeric sequences as probes was applied to pollen mother cells of wheat and wheat/alien hybrids having different pairing gene combinations. It showed: association of centromeres during pre-meiotic interphase; decondensation of centromeric structure; sister chromatid disjunction of univalent chromosomes in homoeologous pairing situations at anaphase I; and centromeric stretching between univalent sister chromatids in wheat/rye hybrids deficient for pairing genes. The implications of these results are discussed.
Aragón-Alcaide
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John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
Reader
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Miller
T
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Moore
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G
D000705:Anaphase / Q000235:genetics; D002503:Centromere / Q000235:genetics; D002678:Chimera; D002842:Chromatids; D002875:Chromosomes; D015342:DNA Probes; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000235:genetics; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007399:Interphase / Q000235:genetics; D008540:Meiosis; D012434:Secale / Q000235:genetics; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics; D014908:Triticum / Q000235:genetics*
D015342:DNA Probes; D006570:Heterochromatin