Breakdown of meiosis in a tetraploid clone from Dichanthium-Bothriochloa complex

Abstract

The paper describes the details of meiosis in a tetraploid clone (collection number 260) from Dichanthium-Bothriochloa complex. Meiosis is reported to have broken down very early in prophase I. Pollen mother cells are reported to be present in the form of plasmodial mass or syncyte with several nuclei in each of them. Each syncyte, presumably, gave rise to one pollen grain without undergoing division. Consequently, each pollen grain had one to several nuclei. A brief note on morphology and taxonomy of the collection is also added. Although the spikelet morphology indicated it to be a natural hybrid Bothrio-chloa grahamii × B. intermedia, in other morphological characters, it resembled Dichanthium annulatum. It was concluded, therefore, that it was a product of continuous natural introgression.