Production of viable male unreduced gametes in Brassica interspecific hybrids is genotype specific and stimulated by cold temperatures.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Unreduced gametes (gametes with the somatic chromosome number) may provide a pathway for evolutionary speciation via allopolyploid formation. We evaluated the effect of genotype and temperature on male unreduced gamete formation in Brassica allotetraploids and their interspecific hybrids. The frequency of unreduced gametes post-meiosis was estimated in sporads from the frequency of dyads or giant tetrads, and in pollen from the frequency of viable giant pollen compared with viable normal pollen. Giant tetrads were twice the volume of normal tetrads, and presumably resulted from pre-meiotic doubling of chromosome number. Giant pollen was defined as pollen with more than 1.5 × normal diameter, under the assumption that the doubling of DNA content in unreduced gametes would

SUBMITTER: Mason AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3141635 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature