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Cytology of Backcross Offspring Derived from a Maize‐Tripsacum Hybrid 1
Author(s) -
Engle L. M.,
de Wet J. M. J.,
Harlan J. R.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1973.0011183x001300060031x
Subject(s) - backcrossing , biology , hybrid , meiosis , ploidy , chromosome , genetics , zea mays , chromosome pairing , cytology , botany , gene , agronomy
Hybrids combining 10 Zea (Zm) and 36 Tripsacum (Tr) chromosomes are produced when diploid Zea mays L. (2n = 20) is crossed with tetraploid Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L. (2n = 72). In these hybrids the 36 Tr chromosomes pair, while the 10 Zm chromosomes remain as univalents and are usually eliminated during meiosis. Backcrossing with maize frequently reconstitutes the 2n = 46 hybrid. After four generations of backcrossing, the frequency of multivalents increased while the frequency of univalents decreased in 2n = 46 individuals, suggesting that segmental chromosome exchanges between genomes of Zea and Tripsacum had taken place. In the third and fourth backcross generations, individuals with 36 Tr + 6, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, or 20 Zm chromosomes were obtained. Chromosome pairing in these individuals suggests that an extensive amount of gene transfer is feasible from Tripsacum into maize.