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The Journal of Heredity 1982:73(1):29-34
© 1982 The American Genetic Association 73:29-34

research-article

An additional mechanism by which B chromosomes are maintained in maize

J. B. Beckett

Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and assistant professor of agronomy, Curtis Hall, University of Missouri Columbia, MO 65211

Abstract

Several different mechanisms enable supernumerary B chromosomes to persist in numerous species of plants and animals. In the past, translocations between the B and A chromosomes were used to determine that nondisjunction of the B at the second microspore division in maize yields one sperm with two BA chromosomes and one with none. The sperm with two BA's then preferentially fertilizes the egg about 65 percent of the time. These two processes, acting in succession, are thought to be responsible for maintaining B chromosomes in maize populations. In crosses involving the heterozygous B-A translocations TB-1La and TB-1Lc, bronze-2 (bz2) was used in the present study to identify hypoploid endosperms (hemizygous because they lack the BA) and leaf morphology to identify hypoploid seedlings. Pollen grains carrying the B chromosome in the translocation produced 56 to 59 percent of the kernels instead of the expected 50 percent or less. Although the basis for the deviation is not yet known, it evidently constitutes an additional mechanism for accumulating B chromosomes in maize populations.


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[Abstract] [Full Text]


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