| II. Exploration Results of the BMUK 1959
Some aspects regarding the collected materials of Triticum and Aegilops from the Eastern Mediterranean Countries. I.* K. YAMASHITA and M. TANAKA Biological Laboratory and Laboratory of Genetics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan 1. Introduction As already reported in the WIS Nos. 9-10, the Botanical Mission of the University of Kyoto (BMUK 1959 in abbreviation) was organized in 1959 with the financial assistance from the Rockefeller Foundation. The main purpose was to collect as many species and varieties of Triticum, Aegilops and the related genera as possible, with special reference to the origin of Emmer wheat. Namely, B-genome collection was the main concern of the BMUK. The itinerary and the lists of collections were reported preliminarily in the WIS Nos. 9-10. The identification of the species in the lists was based on the collected samples, and we have found a few corrections are necessary. We traveled mainly by airplane, train, bus, ship, jeep, and car, but a horse carriage or a bicycle was also used for a local survey. When we traveled by jeep, we stopped at any places for the observation and collection. By this way, therefore, a thorough survey of distribution was made along the routes, while by other ways only the spots of distribution were marked. Habitats of Triticum and Aegilops along the exploration routes are given in the appended map. The seeds of the collected materials were planted in the fall of 1959, and the first generation in Kyoto has been observed in 1960. Results of further investigations by respective authors will be published successively in series, as soon as they are completed. 2. Aegilops mutica from Turkey and Syria Aegilops mutica: 2n = 14, genome symbol-MtMt In 1954 we obtained 2 strains of this species by the courtesy of Dr. Hyland, U.S.D.A. Washington D.C., U.S.A., but we failed to maintain them. A few years later the species was obtained again by the courtesy of Dr. Jenkins, Winnipeg, Canada, but it was again difficult to maintain due to its high sterility, which was presumably caused by the frequent occurrence of B-chromosomes. For these reasons, our cherished desire was to collect more materials from its original habitats in Turkey, known by Eig (1929). When we arrived in Ankara in the middle of May, the season was a little too early, but when we visited there again in June after our trip to Italy and Greece, various species of Aegilops were at height of shooting even in the garden of the Japanese Embassy in Ankara. " Turkey is really the home of Aegilops" was our straight impression. |
| * Contributions of the BMUK 1959, No. 1. |
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