Genome constitution of the Australian hexaploid grass Elymus scabrus (Poaceae: Triticeae).

Eight intergeneric hybrid plants were obtained between Elymus scabrus (2n = 6x = 42, SSYY??) and Australopyrum pectinatum ssp. retrofractum (2n = 2x = 14, WW). The hybrids were vegetatively vigorous but reproductively sterile. Examination of pollen mother cells at metaphase I revealed an average of 16.63 I, 5.29 II, 0.19 III, and 0.05 IV per cell for the eight hybrids. The average chiasma frequency of 6.77 per cell in the above hybrids strongly supports the presence of a W genome from A. pectinatum ssp. retrofractum in E. scabrus. Meiotic pairing data of some other interspecific hybrids suggest the existence of the SY genomes in E. scabrus. Therefore, the genome constitution of E. scabrus should be written as SSYYWW. Two other hybrid plants resulted from Elymus yezoensis (2n = 4x = 28, SSYY) crosses with A. pectinatum ssp. pectinatum (2n = 2x = 14, WW). Both were weak and sterile. An average of 0.45 bivalents per cell were observed at metaphase I. This clearly indicates a lack of pairing between W genome of Australopyrum and S or Y genomes of E. yezoensis. In addition, six hybrid plants of E. scabrus with Psathyrostachys juncea (2n = 2x = 14, NN) and one with Thinopyrum bessarabicum (2n = 2x = 14, JJ) were also obtained. The average bivalents per cell formed in both combinations were 2.84 and 0.70, respectively. The results of the latter two combinations showed that there is no N or J genome in E. scabrus.