Evidence That 2n Eggs Explain Partial Hybrids between <i>Medicago sativa</i> and <i>Medicago arborea</i>

Selected genotypes of alfalfa (<i>Medicago sativa</i>) produce partial hybrids in sexual crosses with <i>Medicago arborea</i>, as reported in <i>Plants</i> (2013). The hybrids contain mostly alfalfa DNA and traits, but also contain DNA and traits from <i>M....

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Main Authors: Edwin Bingham, John Irwin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Plants
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/10/1380
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author Edwin Bingham
John Irwin
author_facet Edwin Bingham
John Irwin
author_sort Edwin Bingham
collection DOAJ
description Selected genotypes of alfalfa (<i>Medicago sativa</i>) produce partial hybrids in sexual crosses with <i>Medicago arborea</i>, as reported in <i>Plants</i> (2013). The hybrids contain mostly alfalfa DNA and traits, but also contain DNA and traits from <i>M. arborea</i>. It was proposed in 2008 that the partial hybrids could be explained by fertilization of 2n eggs in alfalfa by normal pollen from <i>M. arborea</i>, followed by partial loss of <i>M. arborea</i> chromosomes during embryogenesis. In this paper, we confirm the presence of 2n eggs in the first alfalfa parents that produced hybrids. The test for 2n eggs involved pollinating 4x alfalfa with pollen from 8x alfalfa. The production of 8x progeny in the cross proved that selected alfalfa parents produced 2n eggs. Thus, 2n eggs appear to explain how the partial hybrids (hereafter hybrids) contain mostly alfalfa DNA and traits. However, two of the six alfalfa plants that did not hybridize with <i>M. arborea</i> also had 2n eggs. Thus, although 2n eggs explain the alfalfa content of hybrids, 2n eggs are not the only factor involved in weakening the hybridization barrier, and in transferring genes to alfalfa from <i>M. arborea</i>.
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spelling doaj.art-2ee18884fb6e41ba84556cc523d58b1d2023-11-23T12:43:50ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-05-011110138010.3390/plants11101380Evidence That 2n Eggs Explain Partial Hybrids between <i>Medicago sativa</i> and <i>Medicago arborea</i>Edwin Bingham0John Irwin1Agronomy Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USASchool of Agriculture and Food Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaSelected genotypes of alfalfa (<i>Medicago sativa</i>) produce partial hybrids in sexual crosses with <i>Medicago arborea</i>, as reported in <i>Plants</i> (2013). The hybrids contain mostly alfalfa DNA and traits, but also contain DNA and traits from <i>M. arborea</i>. It was proposed in 2008 that the partial hybrids could be explained by fertilization of 2n eggs in alfalfa by normal pollen from <i>M. arborea</i>, followed by partial loss of <i>M. arborea</i> chromosomes during embryogenesis. In this paper, we confirm the presence of 2n eggs in the first alfalfa parents that produced hybrids. The test for 2n eggs involved pollinating 4x alfalfa with pollen from 8x alfalfa. The production of 8x progeny in the cross proved that selected alfalfa parents produced 2n eggs. Thus, 2n eggs appear to explain how the partial hybrids (hereafter hybrids) contain mostly alfalfa DNA and traits. However, two of the six alfalfa plants that did not hybridize with <i>M. arborea</i> also had 2n eggs. Thus, although 2n eggs explain the alfalfa content of hybrids, 2n eggs are not the only factor involved in weakening the hybridization barrier, and in transferring genes to alfalfa from <i>M. arborea</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/10/1380speciessubspeciesinterspecific hybridsunreduced gametesgenomehybrid breakdown
spellingShingle Edwin Bingham
John Irwin
Evidence That 2n Eggs Explain Partial Hybrids between <i>Medicago sativa</i> and <i>Medicago arborea</i>
Plants
species
subspecies
interspecific hybrids
unreduced gametes
genome
hybrid breakdown
title Evidence That 2n Eggs Explain Partial Hybrids between <i>Medicago sativa</i> and <i>Medicago arborea</i>
title_full Evidence That 2n Eggs Explain Partial Hybrids between <i>Medicago sativa</i> and <i>Medicago arborea</i>
title_fullStr Evidence That 2n Eggs Explain Partial Hybrids between <i>Medicago sativa</i> and <i>Medicago arborea</i>
title_full_unstemmed Evidence That 2n Eggs Explain Partial Hybrids between <i>Medicago sativa</i> and <i>Medicago arborea</i>
title_short Evidence That 2n Eggs Explain Partial Hybrids between <i>Medicago sativa</i> and <i>Medicago arborea</i>
title_sort evidence that 2n eggs explain partial hybrids between i medicago sativa i and i medicago arborea i
topic species
subspecies
interspecific hybrids
unreduced gametes
genome
hybrid breakdown
url https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/10/1380
work_keys_str_mv AT edwinbingham evidencethat2neggsexplainpartialhybridsbetweenimedicagosativaiandimedicagoarboreai
AT johnirwin evidencethat2neggsexplainpartialhybridsbetweenimedicagosativaiandimedicagoarboreai