Apospory and parthenogenesis may be uncoupled in Poa pratensis: a cytological investigation

Abstract

Despite the potential that apomixis has for agriculture, there is little information regarding the genetic control of its functional components. We carried out a cytohistological investigation on an F1 segregating population of Poa pratensis obtained from a cross between a sexual and an apomictic parent. About half of the F1 progeny plants were parthenogenic, as adjudicated by an auxin test. The degree of parthenogenesis ranged from 1.44% to 92.9%. Apospory was detected in parthenogenetic plants as well as in two non-parthenogenetic individuals. These results indicate that two distinct genetic factors control apospory and parthenogenesis in P. pratensis and that apospory and parthenogenesis may be developmentally uncoupled.