Summary
Three methods by which polyploid gametes were formed in segregates of a diploidAvena species hybrid have been described in this paper. They may be briefly outlined as follows:
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1. (a)
First and most frequently from a giant pollen mother cell, which at the first meiotic division had a giant nucleus containing 14, 21, 28 or more bivalents, according to the number of nuclei which had fused to form the giant nucleus.
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(b)
Secondly, from a normal pollen mother cell in which, due to the absence of a dividing cell wall, fusion of the two M. II plates took place so that ultimately a dyad pollen grain was formed, the nucleus of each cell having 14 chromosomes.
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(c)
Thirdly, from a normal pollen mother cell, in which there was a complete failure of cell wall development so that the whole pollen mother cell, containing 4 nuclei, each with 7 chromosomes, became a giant pollen grain. In this case the two meiotic divisions have proceeded normally.
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2.
Absence of cell wall development is an important factor of polyploid gamete formation in all the methods described.
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3.
While the polyploid gametes appear to be healthy and viable, no evidence is yet available to show whether they are functional or not.
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4.
The possible evolutionary significance and economic value within the genusAvena of such polyploid gametes, if functional, is discussed.
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References
Imperial Bureau of Plant Genetics, Cambridge (1936).The Experimental Production of Haploids and Polyploids.
Ellison, W. (1936). “Meiosis and fertility in certain British varieties of the cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.).”Genetica,18, 217–54.
—— (1937). “The occurrence of giant pollen mother cells in the cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.).”Genetica,19, 153–5.
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Ellison, W. Polyploid gamete formation in diploidAvena hybrids. Journ. of Genetics 34, 287–295 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02982269
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02982269