Interspecific manipulation of chromosomes

Abstract

The success of introducing alien variation into crop species from related species depends on the cytogenetic relations between the species. If there are no restrictions on chromosome pairing and recombination in species hybrids, a backcrossing programme can be used to obtain the desired gene transfers. However, when there is a failure of adequate chromosome pairing in species hybrids, techniques of chromosome manipulation have to be used to obtain alien gene transfers. In polyploid crop species it is possible to introduce appropriate single chromosomes of the alien species into the genotype of the recipient species, but the failure of the alien chromosome to become integrated into the genotype of the recipient species often leads to meiotic instability. The introduction of segments of alien chromosomes has been successful through the use of irradiation-induced translocations. The deletions/duplications that are a consequence of such translocations do limit the usefulness of this approach. In a number of allopolyploid crop species, regular bivalent pairing behaviour has been shown to be genetically controlled. By interfering with the genetic system controlling the diploid-like pairing it is possible to induce pairing between the alien chromosomes and its corresponding chromosomes in the crop species. Gene transfers based on this method involve exchanges between chromosomes of similar gene sequences. These techniques are discussed and application of the procedures to transfer alien variation into the cultivated oat is described. A scheme is also proposed for transferring the genes controlling regular bivalent pairing from natural polyploid species into synthetic amphiploids in Lolium/Festuca .