ASSESSING SUCCESS IN GENE-TRANSFER BETWEEN LOLIUM-MULTIFLORUM AND FESTUCA-ARUNDINACEA

A Festuca arundinacea (2n = 6x = 42) plant with three PGI/2 homoeoalle les marking three homoeologous chromosomes was crossed with a Lolium m ultiflorum plant (2n = 4x = 28) with a different PGI/2 phenotype to gi ve a pentaploid hybrid (2n = 5x = 35) with five chromosomes each marke d by a different PGI/2 allele. This hybrid plant was backcrossed twice with diploid L. multiflorum (2n = 2x = 14) with a different PGI/2 phe notype. Numbers of interspecific recombinants involving chromosomes ma rked by PGI/2 were then determined in both backcross generations. In t he BCl, recombinants involving only one PGI/2 allele were found but in the BC2, all three homoeologous F. arundinacea chromosomes carrying t he PGI/2 locus recombined with Lolium with one in greater frequency an d the others in equal but lower frequency. The evidence supports claim s made for F. pratensis (2n = 2x = 14) and F. arundinacea var. glauces cens (2n = 4x = 28) being progenitors for F. arundinacea.