MATERNAL INHERITANCE OF CHLOROPLAST GENOME AND PATERNAL INHERITANCE OF MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME IN BANANAS (MUSA-ACUMINATA)

Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were used as markers to determine the transmission of cytoplasmic DNA in diploid banana cr osses. Progenies from two controlled crosses were studied with heterol ogous cytoplasmic probes. This analysis provided evidence for a strong bias towards maternal transmission of chloroplast DNA and paternal tr ansmission of mitochondrial DNA in Musa acuminata. These results sugge st the existence of two separate mechanisms of organelle transmission and selection, but no model to explain this can be proposed at the pre sent time. Knowledge of the organelle mode of inheritance constitutes an important point for phylogeny analyses in bananas and may offer a p owerful tool to confirm hybrid origins.