ANALYSIS OF RECOMBINATION RATE IN FEMALE AND MALE GAMETOGENESIS IN PEARL-MILLET (PENNISETUM-GLAUCUM) USING RFLP MARKERS

Sex as a factor affecting recovered recombination in plant gametes was investigated in pearl millet, Pennisetum glaucum, by using reciprocal three-way crosses [(A x B) x C v C x (A x B)]. The two populations we re mapped at 42 loci pre-selected to cover the majority of the genome. No differences in recombination distances were observed at the whole- genome level and only a few individual linkage intervals were found to differ, all in favour of increased recombination through the male. Di storted segregations found in the three-way crosses provide evidence o f post-gametic selection for particular gene(s) or chromosome regions. The significance of these results for the design of pearl millet bree ding programmes and inheritance experiments, as well as for other expe rimental strategies, is discussed.