The causes and consequences of meiotic irregularity in the leek (Allium ampeloprasum spp. porrum); implications for fertility, quality and uniformity

We have previously confirmed that Allium ampeloprasum spp. porrum, the leek, shows extensive and frequent quadrivalent formation during prophase I of meiosis, and that despite the resolution of most of these into bivalents some quadrivalents persist to metaphase I; in addition, a substantial number of univalents are found at this stage. In this paper we examine the later meiotic and post meiotic consequences of these irregularities in four leek cultivars and discuss their implications. Irregularities of chromosome segregation are observed at anaphase of both meiotic divisions, giving rise to micronuclei in dyad and tetrad stage pollen mother cells. It is shown that micronucleus frequency in tetrads is correlated with univalent frequency at metaphase I, suggesting that micronuclei originate largely from missegregation of univalents. Seedling populations of the same four cultivars were screened cytologically and shown to contain aneuploids at frequencies ranging between 4.3% and 8.4%. It is proposed that the majority of aneuploid seedlings originate from meiotic irregularity, especially univalent missegregation. It is very likely that the presence of this level of aneuploidy in the seedling populations contributes to the problems of phenotypic non-uniformity experienced by the leek crop, although its relative importance is difficult to assess. Further studies are required to establish the genetical and environmental contributions to meiotic irregularity and to assess the potential for selection for greater meiotic regularity in this material. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.