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In the two. subsequent generations, the amphiploid displayed high cytological instability. The chromosome number varied from 46 - 66 and averaged 52 in 24 plants derived from the 70-chromosome amphiploid. It is evident that the high ploidy amphiploid always presented continuous decrease of chromosomes after its polyploidization. Spetsov et al. (1993) stated that a 70 chromosome amphiploid between a winter wheat and Ae. variabilis exhibits a high level of aneuploidy. But the present amphiploid produced aneuploid at a high level, which may have resulted from the effective gene ph1b of its wheat parent.

Though interspecific and intraspecific C-banding pattern polymorphisms is present in genus of Aegilops (Teoh 1983), it does not prevent the identifications of their chromosomes in wheat background, after the establishment of standard karyotypes of corresponding genome (Friebe et al. 1996). In the present study, the C-banding of Sv genome of Ae. variabilis accession 13E is the most similar to that of the B genome in wheat. But these strong telomeric bands in Sv chromosomes allows for their identification. Moreover, the band patterns together with their length and arm ratio make Uv genome chromosomes easily distinguishable from those of wheat chromosomes. Giemsa C-banding patterns of the Ae. variabilis chromosomes in the amphiploid and its selfed progenies were similar to those of its diploid state. In C-banded chromosomes. of a F3 plant of amphiploid (2n=48), eight Ae. variabilis chromosomes were observed (Fig. 4). It can be concluded that the chromosomes from wheat or Aegilops parents may have opportunity to be lost when the amphiploid is selfed, which further confirms the cytological instability of the amphiploid. Moreover, the cytological instability together with the effectiveness of ph gene may be beneficial for creating the desirable gene recombination between wheat and Aegilops chromatin.

Seed storage protein analysis: APAGE of seed gliadin revealed that the strong bands of Ae. variabilis 13E existed in w, r and b zone (Fig. 5B). Ae. variabilis contained quite strong and some aggregated bands in w zone. These are totally expressed in amphiploid. The additive electrophoresis patterns of gliadin permit the genetic identification of amphiploid and chromosome markers for directed genetic manipulation. By using the different band patterns as biochemical markers including seed gliadin, Williams and Mujeeb-Kazi (1996) and Spetsov et al. (1998) identified a wheat-Ae. variabilis amphiploid and Wheat-Ae. kotschyi substitution lines, respectively.

The composition of glutenin was analyzed by SDS-PAGE (Fig. 5A). The high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) of J-11ph1b contained null subunit of Glu-Al, and subunits 7 + 8 of Glu-B1, as well as subunits 2+12 of Glu-D1. Ae. variabilis also exhibited two strong slower-migrating bands. The slowest band with electrophoretic mobility as the subunit 2.2 of Glu-D1 can also be observed in the amphiploid selfed plant. Other faster-migrating group of two closely located bands of Ae. variabilis were between subunit 8 and subunit 12 of wheat. However, those two bands were modified in amphiploid selfed plant. The faster-moving one was absent, and a new band moving slightly slower than subunit 8 emerged. Furthermore, the amphiploid selfed plant lost the glutenin subunits of both Glu-B1 and Glu-D1 from wheat parent, indicating the corresponding chromosomes or segments were lost. This also demonstrated that the wheat chromosomes were lost or modified in the selfed amphiploid background. In addition, the other bands in HMW and LMW regions of the amphiploid are mostly from its Aegilops parent.

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