THE EFFECT OF TELOMERIC HETEROCHROMATIN ON CHROMOSOME PAIRING OF HEXAPLOID TRITICALE

Abstract
Plants carrying (++) or lacking (−−) most of the telomeric heterochromatic band on the short arm of chromosome 6R(6RS) were isolated from a single plant progeny of Rosner triticale (× Triticosecale Wittmack) heterozygous for this band. Chromosome pairing at first meiotic metaphase was significantly higher in −− than in ++ or +− plants. The changes in chromosome pairing were likely due to the 6RS telomeric heterochromatin which affected the pairing not only of the arm carrying it but of other chromosomes as well.