Synaptonemal complex spreading in Allium cepa and Allium fistulosum. III. The F1 hybrid

Synaptonemal complexes (SCs) were analysed, by surface spreading, in the F1 hybrid between Allium cepa and Allium fistulosum. These closely related species have a similar karyomorphology, but the A. cepa genome has 27% more DNA than A. fistulosum. At metaphase I, in the hybrid, heteromorphic bivalents were observed, and the pollen mother cell chiasma frequency in the F1 hybrid was reduced when compared with the parents. Synapsis was incomplete and disturbed to some extent in all the prophase I nuclei observed. The reduced level of synapsis at late zygotene – mid pachytene in the hybrid (mean percent homoeologous synapsis is 60%) corresponds to the percent reduction in chiasma frequency. It is suggested that failure of synapsis is the main cause of reduction of chiasma frequency in the F1 hybrid. The chiasma distribution in the hybrid is most similar to that of the A. cepa parent. Although some proximal chiasmata were observed (10% of total), none of the bivalents observed had only proximally localised chiasmata as found in the A. fistulosum parent. In the F1 hybrid, synapsis of the centromeric regions of the bivalents was invariably disturbed throughout prophase I. It is suggested that there are major DNA differences in these regions preventing regular synapsis or progression of synapsis and possibly proximal chiasma formation. Nonhomoeologous synapsis occurred within axes, giving foldback SCs, and between axes, resulting in multivalent formation. It is proposed that disturbance of synapsis is due to DNA differences. There is no indication of any rearrangement or adjustment of synapsis during prophase I either to give perfectly synapsed bivalents or to resolve multivalents into bivalents.Key words: synaptonemal complex, Allium, incomplete pairing, chiasma, nonhomologous pairing, DNA content.