Structural changes of rye chromosome 1R induced by a gametocidal chromosome.

A certain chromosome of Aegilops triuncialis is known to cause chromosomal aberrations in common wheat. We studied how frequently the Ae. triuncialis chromosome induced chromosome mutations in chromosome 1R of rye which was substituted for chromosome 1B in a common wheat cultivar. Wheat-rye translocations and deletions in chromosome 1R were found in more than 10% of the plants examined, and most of them were stably transmitted in the subsequent generations. The possible use of this system for inducing wheat-alien translocations is discussed in relation to wheat breeding.