Identification of all chromosome arms and their involvement in meiotic homoeologous associations at metaphase I in 2 Hordeum vulgare L. x Hordeum bulbosum L. hybrids.

We have identified all Hordeum bulbosum chromosomes in 2 diploid Hordeum vulgare x Hordeum bulbosum hybrids using suitable probes and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Using the parental idiograms allowed us to carry out a full analysis of chromosome associations among all chromosome arms in the hybrids. Association frequencies were generally lower for the short arms than for the long arms. There were also significant differences among the chromosome arms in association frequencies, partly correlated with the absolute length of the chromosome arm, as well as with the frequency of recombinant lines, which were recovered from partially fertile interspecific hybrids. The H. bulbosum idiogram will be useful for further chromosome association studies and will enable the identification of H. bulbosum chromosomes involved in chromosome addition or substitution lines.