Most studies of plant hybridisation are concerned with documenting its occurrence in different plant groups. Many flowering plants are polyploids and seeds developed from crosses between individuals of different ploidies usually show abnormal features and often abort. The success or failure of interploidy crosses is very important to understanding the evolution of plants as well as to agriculture, but much remains to be learned about the nature of hybridisation barriers. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain postzygotic barriers, including negative interactions between diverged sequences, global genome rearrangements, and widespread epigenetic reprogramming. Some recent advances in our understanding of the process of hybridisation are derived from different experimental studies on a series of A. thaliana ecotypes. Crosses between diploid (2x) and tetraploid (4x) individuals of the same ecotype can result in F1 lethality, and this dosage-sensitive incompatibility plays a major role in polyploidy speciation research. We have performed interploidy crosses between different diploid maternal A. thaliana ecotypes and tetraploid paternal Col-0 ecotype and identified a genetic variation in F1 lethality. We also found that maternal parents of some ecotypes such as Tsu-1 suppressed the F1 lethality caused by paternal-excess interploidy cross of Col-0 ecotype. A preliminary mapping exercise produced advanced backcross populations that are suitable for mapping maternal modifiers and for the identification of modifier genes. Furthermore, we studied the killer effect caused by Col-0 and identified three additive QTL that affect the rate of postzygotic lethality in F1 during interploidy crosses. This information will facilitate the identification of paternal genes that cause F1 lethality and contribute to reproductive isolation. The moa-1 (mosaic aneuploidy 1) mutant of A. thaliana was obtained in a screen of chemically (EMS) mutagenised seeds of Landsberg erecta (Ler). moa-1 has various phenotypic differences to wild type; the preliminary karyotype analysis showed that the cells of individual moa-1 mutant plants have a variable number of chromosomes (usually between 11-18). In contrast, the cells of wild type Arabidopsis plants and conventional aneuploids have a fixed number of chromosomes in each somatic cell. This data showed that all moa-1 plants have an abnormal number of chromosomes and thus they were termed as mosaic aneuploids.

The effects of seed size on sprout growth of potato seed pieces were investigated in controlled temperature conditions. The objectives were to quantify the effects of seed size, plant growth regulators (gibberellin and paclobutrasol) and calcium availability on sprout length, sprout and root dry mass, as well as the fraction of seed reserves utilised for sprout development. The interactive effect between seed size and temperature was also investigated Sprout length did not differ among seed pieces ranging from 1 to 8g in mass. For larger seed pieces sprout length, dry mass and dry mass per unit length, and the root dry mass increased with increasing seed size, reaching a maximum at a seed mass of 24g after 40 days. The smaller the initial seed piece the larger was the fraction of assimilates utilised for sprout growth. Sprout length and dry mass as well as assimilate mobilisation for growth, were promoted by dipping seed pieces in gibberellin solutions, with the greatest effect obtained with 30 ppm GA, the highest concentration used in the experiment. Paclobutrasol showed inhibiting effects on all growth parameters except for sprout thickness. The root dry mass did not differ among treatments. Sprout growth was enhanced by calcium availability, with the greatest effect obtained with exogenous supply of calcium at 10 mmol/I as CaS04. A similar effect was noticed when complete nutrient solution was supplied. CaC03 was less effective than CaS04. Calcium availability to sprout tips affected sprout growth only when the roots were deprived of nutrients. Sprout length of the two seed pieces (3 and 5g in mass) was similarly affected by temperature over time, with the sprouts at the low temperature initially shorter, but reaching the same lengths as those at the high temperature after 30 and 40 days. Sprout dry mass and thickness of 3 and 5g seed pieces were similarly affected by temperature, with higher dry mass and greater thickening at 16°C than at 26°C. Exposure to low temperature (16°C) was associated with the transfer of a large fraction of seed reserves to the sprouts. / Dissertation (MSc (Agric): Agronomy)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

Orientador: Ivany Ferraz Marques Valio / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T03:19:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Abrao_MarluciMundin_D.pdf: 2033158 bytes, checksum: 02bd87759812f0f20bce7ff1ed06a9d8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Doutorado / Biologia Vegetal / Doutor em Biologia Vegetal