Selected items of wheat variation - from palaeobotany to molecular biology

Romuald Kosina

Abstract


The usefulness of data on ecotypes of wheat as well as of information about distribution of genes of hybrid necrosis for an interpretation of some questionable detections of fossil materials is emphasized. Variability of contemporary wheats is illustrated by means of morphology of lodicules, anatomical structure of caryopsis, morphology of embryo and features of epidermis of inflorescence bracts. These structures exhibit often a trend dependent on ploidy level. Discrimination of similar grains of fossil Triticum compactum and T. sphaerococcum is possible when traits of embryo are used. Wheat genomes are changed by numerous translocations and are spatially separated. This status may be detected by means of in situ hybridization of the genomic DNA. With such a spatial arrangement of the genomes the dominance of a caryopsis trait complex in hybrids between tetraploid wheats may be correlated. It may also create a part of new variation in wheat.

Keywords


wheat, variation; ecotypes; micromorphology; in situ hybridization; genomes

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5586/asbp.1999.019

Journal ISSN:
  • 2083-9480 (online)
  • 0001-6977 (print; ceased since 2016)
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Publisher
Polish Botanical Society