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Wheat Information Service
Number 78: 18-20 (1994)


Breeding behaviour of monosomics in hexaploid wheat

D. Singh and C. Rajlakshmy

Division of Genetics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India


All the monosomic lines of the wheat cultivar Chinese Spring, developed by E.R. Sears, and twenty monosomic lines (excluding 5B) of the Indian wheat variety Pb. C591, developed by Swaminathan et al. (1968) have been maintained at the Division of Genetics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute , New Delhi. These monosomic series have been utilized in genetical and cytogenetical studies (Joshi et al. 1968, Joshi and Singh 1979, Singh and Joshi 1979, Singh and Joshi 1986, Singh 1992).

Breeding behaviour of all the monosomic lines in the above two series was studied for a period of eighteen years. Data pertaining to variety Chinese Spring revealed that out of the 617 plants analysed, 65.6% were monosomics (20"+1'), 36.6% disomics (21"), 0.5% double monosomics (19"+2') and 0.5% were nullisomics and trisomics (20" and 20"+1''' or 21"1') (
Table 1). Similarly out of 573 plants analysed in variety Pb. C591, 69.6% were monosomics, 29.3% disomics, 0.5% double monosomics and 0.5% nullisomics and trisomics (Table 2). The frequencies of monosomics and disomics in the selfed progenies of monosomic lines in these varieties were well within the range (49 to 85% of monosomics and 11 to 29% of disomics) shown by Morris and Sears (1967). Low frequencies of nullisomics and trisomics obtained in the monosomic lines of the two varieties could be due to the fact that only healthy plants were selected for cytological analysis, expecting that identified monosomics could be effectively used in crossings and for maintenance of monosomic lines.

Person (1956) reported a low frequency of double monosomics (0.4%) in a population of 225 monosomics. A similar frequency of double monosomics was obtained by McGinnis and Campbell (1960). The frequency obtained in the present study is consistent with those reported by these workers. However, Joshi et al. (1968) reported a very high frequency of double monosomics (1.9%) in the selfed progenies of Chinese Spring monosomic lines. Since the presence of double monosomics and trisomics may permit univalent shift, a rigid cytological check of monosomic plants used in selfing or in crossing programme, is essential, in order to maintain the purity of the monosomic lines.

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