MEIOTIC ANALYSIS OF ASTRAGALUS-CICER L I-OCTAPLOIDS

Meiosis has been investigated in five clones (genotypes) of Astragalus cicer L. Features characteristic of all clones included strongly dipl oid-like chromosome pairing at first metaphase, regular disjunction at first anaphase, high pollen viability, and plant fertility. Two contr asting patterns of meiosis were distinguished among the the clones bas ed on their (1) frequencies of bivalents and (2) inversely proportiona l frequencies of multivalents. Meiotic behavior of A. cicer is compare d and contrasted with that of other octaploid species. We conclude tha t A. cicer is a segmental allooctaploid, possibly an autoallooctaploid with two largely divergent genomes, in which meiosis has been diploid ized by a pairing control system.