Variations in Chromosomal Association and Behavior During Meiosis Among Plants from Open-Pollinated Populations of Dactylis glomerata

Abstract

1. Chromosomal association and behavior during meiosis was determined from duplicate collections of twelve plants and single collections of eight plants from open-pollinated populations of Dactylis glomerata. 2. The average number of quadrivalents per sporocyte ranged from 2.42 to 4.39 for the twenty plants. The differences among plants and between dates of collection were statistically significant. 3. The percentage of metaphase I sporocytes with univalents varied from 0 to 16.8. P was less than 0.05 and 0.01, respectively, for comparisons of differences among plants and between dates of collection. 4. From 1.7 to 34.0 per cent of the anaphase I sporocytes of the different plants had lagging chromosomes which were dividing equationally. The difference between dates of collection was significant. For comparison of variance due to plants with the interaction plants x days, F was slightly less than F for P of 0.05. From 0.5 to 13.8 per cent of the anaphase I sporocytes had dicentric chromatid bridges accomp...