Interstitial chiasmata and centromere orientation in heterozygotes for a translocation in rye
The meiotic behaviour of plants heterozygous for translocation T242W of rye (involving 2RL and 6RL) and an interstitial C-band in 2RL has been analyzed. Chain and frying pan quadrivalents predominate. The following results have further been obtained: (i) double chiasmata occur in the interstitial segment carrying the C-band; (ii) from the frequency of being bound at metaphase I and the frequency of recombinant chromosomes at anaphase I, estimates of chiasma frequencies (and chiasma interference) in interstitial segments have been derived; (iii) estimates of the recombination fraction between the interstitial C-band and the translocation breakpoint have been obtained from offspring analysis; (iv) there is a difference in the frequency of alternate orientation between configurations with and without interstitial chiasmata (adjacent-2 has not been observed and a small but significant excess of alternate vs. adjacent-1 coorientation appears). Without intersitial chiasmata, alternate orientation predominates. The possible reasons for these differences are discussed. Key words: Secale cereale, translocations, chiasma frequency, centromere orientation.