Meiosis in autopolyploid and allopolyploid Arabidopsis.

All newly formed polyploids face a challenge in meiotic chromosome segregation due to the presence of an additional set of chromosomes. Nevertheless, naturally occurring auto and allopolyploids are common and generally show high fertility, showing that evolution can find solutions. Exactly how meiosis is adapted in these cases, however, remains a mystery. The rise of Arabidopsis as a model genus for polyploid and meiosis research has seen several new studies begin to shed light on this long standing question.