GrainGenes

II. 10. Barley-wheat hybrids.

George Fedak, Ottawa Research Station, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ont, K1A OC6 Canada.

After several unsuccessful attempts, intergeneric hybrids were obtained from the cross Betzes barley x Chinese Spring wheat. The procedures of GA application to pollinated florets, excision and culture of hybrid embryos, etc. were similar to those employed in the bulbosum technique.

Of the 372 florets pollinated, 44 embryos were cultured from which four hybrid plants with 2n=28 chromosomes were obtained The hybrids were vigorous once established and very wheat-like except for the awnletted lemmas. Plant height was intermediate to that of the parents and foliage color a lighter green. The hybrids were completely sterile and attempts to double the chromosome number have failed thus far.

Two peculiar phenomena were observed in the meiotic behavior of the chromosomes. Firstly, MI cells with configurations of one hexavalent, one quadrivalent, eight bivalents, and two univalents indicated that the barley genome was probably suppressing the activity of the 5B gene of wheat by permitting pairing between homeologous chromosomes. Secondly, meiotic cells with up to 35 chromosomes indicated that presumably certain chromosomes were becoming replicated through a process of premeiotic mitosis. These aspects are currently under study.

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