Analysis of hybrid lethality in F1 wheat-rye hybrid embryos

The effect of the Embryo lethality mutant (Eml) of rye was studied in crosses between hexaploid wheat and corresponding inbred rye line (L2). Histological analysis of hybrid embryos revealed morphological differences 16 days after pollination. Eml was found to arrest the formation of shoot meristem but had no influence on root meristem formation. The effect of Eml cannot be overcome by in vitro embryo rescue via direct regeneration on Kruse medium. The possibility of complementary interactions between wheat and rye genes and of changes in gene expression through increased variation in dosage-regulated gene expression during hybrid formation is discussed.