Configurations resulting from iso-chromatid and iso-subchromatid unions after meiotic and mitotic prophase irradiation.

Abstract

By making use of the chromosomes of Trillium erectum as a model, potential and actual configurations arising from presumed iso-chromatid and iso-subchromatid unions after irradiation of meiotic or mitotic prophase have been studied and analyzed. Diagrams and photographs of various recognizable types of chromatid or subchromatid rearrangements are presented. A minimum of two iso-chromatid unions within an arm of a single chromosome in meiotic prophase, if separated by a single chiasma, can give rise to a monocentric chromosome with a triplicated segment, the middle portion of which is an inversion. A minimum of two iso-subchromatid breaks within an arm at either meiotic or mitotic prophase also can result in the production of a monocentric chromosome containing a triplicated segment. The stage of appearance of dicentrics or bridges arising from chromatid or subchromatid unions in meiotic prophase is influenced by chiasma number and pattern and by the number of strands per chromosome or chromatid. Some of the rearrangements described may have genetic and evolutionary implication of considerable potential importance which has not been recognized previously.