Rye heterochromatin. II. Characterization of a derivative from chromosome 1DS.1RL with a reduced amount of the major repeating sequence

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Homoeologous recombination between wheat chromosomes and the long arm of chromosome 1R of rye present in a wheat background as the wheat–rye translocation, 1DS.1RL, has been reported. During the course of this study an unexpected plant (308-17), with a recombinant phenotype, arose from a control population where homoeologous pairing was thought to be suppressed. The putative recombinant chromosome in plant 308-17 carried two seed protein loci located on 1RL (namely, the rye Glu-R1 locus and a recently discovered globulin-like marker) but appeared to lack C-banded heterochromatin. Further investigation of this apparent recombinant chromosome in progeny of 308-17 using a cloned probe for the 350 family of rye heterochromatic sequence indicated that some terminal heterochromatin was still present but in a much reduced amount. Because it appears that only the terminal region has been changed, the modified chromosome in 308-17 most likely did not arise from homoeologous recombination but rather from some form of heterochromatin loss event, possibly involving an unequal sister chromatid exchange within the terminal heterochromatin of 1RL. Sister lines to plant 308-17 carrying Glu-R1 contained a normal amount of 1RL heterochromatin.Key words: rye–wheat, heterochromatin, recombinant, unequal sister chromatid exhange.