Meiosis in the leek (Allium porrum L.) revisited. I. Prophase I pairing.

Meiotic chromosome pairing of the tetraploid species Allium porrum, the cultivated leek, was analysed by electron microscopy of 83 surface-spread nuclei in the late zygotene to early diplotene interval of prophase I, from four different varieties. Prophase I quadrivalent frequency, at 71%, marginally but significantly exceeds the two-thirds expected on a simple random end-pairing model, suggesting that more than two autonomous pairing sites occur, in some tetrasomes at least. This pattern of synaptic behaviour is consistent with an autotetraploid status, but comparison with other tetraploids, including other Allium species, indicates that Allium porrum may be a weak segmental allopolyploid displaying limited preferential homologous pairing. The incidence of pairing partner switches (PPSs) in prophase I quadrivalents is relatively low; 90% of all analysed quadrivalents had only one or two PPSs. The positional distribution of PPSs along quadrivalents was distinctly uneven with peaks in mid-chromosome arms and reduced frequencies around centromeres and near the ends. The four different varieties of leek analysed were remarkably similar in their meiotic behaviour despite their diverse breeding history, but individual plants within varieties displayed substantial variation in quadrivalent and PPS frequencies.