Genotype-Environment Interaction in Wheat

Abstract

INSTANCES of exceptionally high frequencies of mutation1, male recombination2, chromosomal aberration3 and sterility 4 have been observed, often simultaneously5-8, in many natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster during the past thirty years. In some cases2,6,8, these exceptional phenomena seem to be associated with chromosomes but not necessarily with specific loci. Tests for an infectious agent have given negative results2,4. Cytoplasmic factors, interacting with specific chromosomes, have been implicated in a few cases 4,7 but in many others the experimental design did not provide for their detection. We report large differences in male recombination and F 1 sterility between reciprocal crosses of strains derived from temporally and geographically diverse natural populations and several commonly-used laboratory marker and balancer stocks. Cytoplasm-chromosome interactions are suggested. © 1975 Nature Publishing Group.