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Aegilops columnaris is a tetraploid species originated from Ae. umbellulata (2n=2x=14, UU) and a yet unknown diploid grass species. Although Ae. columnaris possesses some agronomically valuable traits, such as heat and drought tolerance and resistance to pests, it has never been used in wheat breeding because of difficulties in producing hybrids and a lack of information on the relationships between Ae. columnaris and common wheat chromosomes. In this paper, we report the development of 57 wheat - Ae. columnaris introgressive lines covering 8 of the14 chromosomes of Aegilops. Based on substitution spectra of hybrids and the results of FISH analysis of the parental Ae. columnaris line with seven DNA probes, we have developed the genetic nomenclature of the U

A total of 14 chloroplast microsatellite markers were used for analysis of the variability and phylogeny of the cytoplasmic genome in 71 members of six species of goat grass with D-genomes. Greater species diversity was found in diploid species of Aegilops tauschii. Greater species variability among polyploid species was demonstrated for A. ventricosa. The haplotype of A. ventricosa considerably differs from haplotypes of A. tauschii. Analyzed samples of A. cylindrica have haplotypes similar to the haplotypes of A. tauschii.

Using C-banding and FISH methods, the karyotype of MC1611 induced mutant of bread wheat, which develop additional spikelets at a rachis node (trait "supernumerary spikelets") was characterized. It was determined that the mutant phenotype is not associated with aneuploidy and major chromosomal rearrangements. The results of genetic analysis showed that supernumerary spikelets of the line are caused by a mutation of the single bh-D. 1 gene, influenced by the genetic background. The mutation causes abnormalities of inflorescence morphogenesis associated with the development of ectopic spikelet meristems in place of floral meristems in the basal part of the spikelets, causing the appearance of additional spikes at a rachis node. The mutant phenotype suggests that the Bh-D gene determines the fate of the lateral meristem in ear, which develops as floral meristem and gives rise to floral organs in wild-type inflorescences. In the Bh-D. 1 mutant, the establishing identity is impaired. The characterized mutant can be used in further studies on molecular genetic basis of development of wheat inflorescence.

The isoenzyme composition of alpha-amylase is studied by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in Tris-glycine (pH 8.3) system in wheat cultivars with different genome composition. We show that durum wheat (Triticum durum, 2n=4x=28, BBAA) lacks the isoenzymes encoded by 6D and 7D chromosomes that are present in common wheat zymograms (Triticum aestivum, 2n=6x=42, BBAADD). A similar pattern is observed in a synthetic allohexaploid carrying the BBAA genomes of wheat and the HchHch genome of barley (Hordeum chilense). Our method of electrophoresis fails to reveal additional variants of alpha-amylase encoded by the barley genome, although C-banding analysis confirms the genomic structure BBAAHChHCh of this allopolyploid. The electrophoretic spectrum of the spring common wheat cultivar Dobrynya with the wheat-Agropyron translocation 7DL-7AiL contains all of the alpha-amylase isoenzymes typical for common wheat (2n=6x=42, BBAADD) except for the zymotype encoded by the long arm of chromosome 7D. This observation confirms the results of cytogenetic analysis that identified a 7DL-7AiL translocation in this cultivar. No additional alpha-amylase isoenzymes encoded by Agropyron chromosome have been observed. Our data indicate that analysis of wheat-alien hybrids or introgressive forms should be carried out using a complex of different methods.

Synthetic hexaploids are bridges for transferring new genes that determine resistance to stress factors from wild-type species to bread wheat. In the present work, the method of developing the spring bread wheat variety Pamyati Maystrenko and the results of its study are described. This variety was obtained using one of the immune lines produced earlier via the hybridization of the spring bread wheat variety Saratovskaya 29 with the synthetic hexaploid T. timopheevii Zhuk. x Ae. tauschii Coss. The C-staining of chromosomes in the Pamyati Maystrenko variety revealed substitutions of 2B and 6B chromosomes by the homeologous chromosomes of the G genome of T. timopheevii and the substitution of chromosome 1D by an orthologous chromosome ofAe. tauschii. It was found that this variety is characterized by resistance to leaf and stem rust, powdery mildew, and loose smut as well as by high grain and bread-making qualities. The role of the alien genetic material introgressed into the bread-wheat genome in the expression of adaptive and economically valuable traits in the Pamyati Maystrenko variety is discussed.

The chromosome composition of the blue-grain line i:S29Ba of the cultivar Saratovskaya 29 was identified by cytological, GISH, and microsatellite analyses and C-banding. It was found that common wheat chromosome 4B of the cultivar Saratovskaya 29 was substituted with the Agropyron elongatum Host. chromosome carrying the gene for blue grain (s:S294Ag(4B)) during the construction of this nearly isogenic line. The blue-grain line was tested for productivity. The substitution of total chromosome 4B of the cultivar Saratovskaya 29 by Ag. elongatum chromosome 4 did not significantly affect the spike productivity parameters and grain quality with the exception of spike length (plus effect), spike density, and vitreousness (minus effects). The blue-grain line with s:S294Ag(4B) can be used in further studies associated with chromosome engineering in cereals and wheat breeding.

Differential C-banding and in situ hybridization were employed in a cytogenetic comparison of thee N-genome Aegilops species: diploid Ae. uniaristata, tetraploid Ae. ventricosa, and hexaploid Ae. recta. The formation of Ae. recta was shown to involve only minor functional modifications of the parental genomes, while intraspecific divergence was accompanied by large genome rearrangements, namely, translocations involving the total chromosome arms of all of the three genomes. The formation of tetraploid Ae. ventricosa involved substantial structural chromosome rearrangements, including a partial deletion of the short arm of chromosome 5D, including the nucleolus-organizing region; a redistribution of C bands on chromosomes of the D and N genomes along with a reduction of the heterochromatin content; and a considerable decrease in the hybridization intensity of the pAs1 repeat. Chromosomes of the Ae. ventricosa D genome were more similar to chromosomes of the Ae. crassa D1 genome than to Ae. tauschii chromosomes.

Using C-banding method and in situ hybridization with the 45S and 5S rRNA gene probes, six hexaploid species of the genus Avena L. with the ACD genome constitution were studied to reveal evolutionary karyotypic changes. Similarity in the C-banding patterns of chromosomal and in the patterns of distribution of the rRNA gene families suggests a common origin of all hexaploid species. Avena fatua is characterized by the broadest intraspecific variation of the karyotype; this species displays chromosomal variants typical of other hexaploid species of Avena. For instance, a translocation with the involvement of chromosome 5C marking A. occidentalis was discovered in many A. fatua accessions, whereas in other representatives of this species this chromosome is highly similar to the chromosome of A. sterilis. Only A. fatua and A. sativa show slight changes in the morphology and in the C-banding pattern of chromosome 2C. These results can be explained either by a hybrid origin of A. fatua or by the fact that this species is an intermediate evolutionary form of hexaploid oats. The 7C-17 translocation was identified in all studied accessions of wild and weedy species (A. sterilis, A. fatua, A. ludoviciana, and A. occidentalis) and in most A. sativa cultivars, but it was absent in A. byzantina and in two accessions of A. sativa. The origin and evolution of the Avena hexaploid species are discussed in context of the results.

The results of analysis of the genome formation in interspecific hybrids of Triticum aestivum with T. timopheevii are reviewed. The spectra of substitutions and rearrangements are shown to depend on the genotypes of the parental forms and on the direction of selection. The frequencies of substitutions of individual T. timopheevii chromosomes significantly vary and reflect the level of their divergence relative to the common wheat chromosomes. Some aspects of classification of the A(t)- and G-genome chromosomes are discussed.

Alloplasmic lines of common wheat with disomic substitution of chromosome 7D for telocentric chromosome 7H(1)Lmar of barley H. marinum subsp. gussoneanum Hudson were isolated from the plants of generation BC3, produced as a result of backcrossing of barley-wheat hybrids H. marinum subsp. gussoneanum (2n = 28) x x T. aestivum (2n = 42), Pyrotrix, cultivar, with 28 common wheat cultivars Pyrotrix 28 and Novosibirskaya 67. Chromosome substitution pattern was determined using SSR analysis and C-banding. In preliminary genomic in situ hybridization experiments, telocentric chromosomes were assigned to wild barley was established. In the BC3F8-generations of three alloplasmic lines with the 7H(1)Lmar(7D) substitution type the differences in fertility manifestation were observed: most of the L-32(1) plants were sterile, in line L-32(2) only sporadic plants were sterile, and line L-32(3) was fertile. Simultaneously with these experiments, using self-pollinated progeny of the hybrids obtained in crosses of common wheat cultivar Saratovskaya 29 (2n = 41), monosomic for chromosome 7D, with common wheat cultivar Pyrotrix 28 with addition of pair of telocentric chromosomes 7H(1)Lmar(7D) of barley H. marinum subsp. gussoneanum, euplasmic wheat-barley ditelosomic substitution 7H(1)Lmar(7D) lines were isolated. The lines obtained had normal fertility. PCR analysis of the 18S/5S mitochondrial repeat (hereafter, mtDNA sequence) in alloplasmic and euplasmic ditelosomic substitution lines 7H(1)Lmar(7D) was performed. In the plants from alloplasmic sterile line L-32(1), the sequences only of the barley (maternal) type were revealed, while the plants from alloplasmic fertile lines L-32(2) and L-32(3) demonstrated heteroplasmy (the presence of barley- and wheat-like sequences within one individual). In euplasmic ditelosomic substitution lines the presence of only wheat-like 18S/5S mitochondrial repeat sequences was observed. The results indicate that the presence of barley-like mtDNA sequences in alloplasmic substitution lines was not associated with the presence of barley chromosomes in their nuclear genomes.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to study the distribution of Spelt1 repetitive DNA sequences on chromosomes of 37 accessions representing eight polyploidy wheat species of the Emmer evolutionary lineage: Triticum dicoccoides Körn, T. dicoccum (Schrank) Schuebel, T. durum Desf., T. polonicum L., T. carthlicum Nevski, T. aethiopicum Jabbz., T. aestivum L., and T. spelta L. Substantial polymorphism in the number, distribution, and the sizes of the Spelt1 loci was revealed. On the chromosomes of the accessions examined, Spelt1 tandem repeats were found in seven different positions (per haploid chromosome set). These were "potential hybridization sites", including the subtelomeric regions of either short or long arms of chromosomes 2A and 6B, the short arm of chromosome 1B, and the long arms of chromosomes 2B and 3B. However, in individual genotypes, only from one to three Spelt1 loci were revealed. Furthermore, no hybridization with Spelt1 probe was detected on chromosomes from 12 accessions. Thus, the total number of Spelt1 sites in karyotypes varied from zero to three, with the average number of 1.16. This was substantially lower than in the species of the Timopheevi section and diploid Aegilops speltoides Tausch, a putative donor of the B genome. The decrease of the content of Spelt1 sequences in the genomes of the Emmer group wheats in comparison with the species of the Timopheevii group and diploid Ae. speltoides was assumed to result from the repetitive sequences reorganization during polyploidization and the repeat elimination during wheat evolution.

Cluster analysis of the Triticum dicoccum chromosome passports by artificial neural networks and UPGMA divided the European T. dicoccum population into two groups, West European and Volga-Balkan. The West European T. dicoccum accessions displayed a predominance of the marker translocation T7A:5B (67% of the accessions), which was also found in a few accessions from other countries (Turkey, Iran, and northern Africa), and were similar in chromosome C-banding patterns. The Volga-Balkan T. dicoccum accessions differed in the C-banding patterns of some chromosomes from the West European accessions, thus probably originating from another founder population. It was assumed that the T. dicoccum accessions carrying the T7A:5B translocation had a common origin and that the wild T. dicoccum population of the Middle East (Syria and Lebanon) contributed to the origin of West European T. dicoccum.

By the example of three synthetic allopolyploids: Aegilops sharonensis x Ae. umbellulata (2n =28), Triticum urartu x Ae. tauschii (2n =28), T. dicoccoides x Ae. tauschii (2n =42) the 5S rDNA changes at the early stage of allopolyploidization were investigated. Using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), the quantitative changes affecting the separate loci of one of the parental genomes were revealed in plants of S3 generation of each hybrid combination. Souther hybridization with genomic DNA of allopolyploid T. urartu x Ae. tauschii (TMU38 x TQ27) revealed lower intensity of the fragments from Ae. tauschii compared with the T. urartu fragments. It may be confirmation of the reduction of signal on 1D chromosome that was revealed in this hybrid using FISH. Both appearance of a new 5S rDNA fragments and full disappearance of fragments from parental species were not showed by Southern hybridization, as well as PCR-analysis of 5-15 plants of S2-S3 generations. The changes were not found under comparison of primary structure of nine 5S rDNA sequences of allopolyploid TMU38 x TQ27 with analogous sequences from parental species genomes. The observable similarity by FISH results of one of the studied synthetic allopolyploids with natural allopolyploid of similar genome composition indicates the early formation of unique for each allopolyploid 5S rDNA organization.

The diploid oat species containing the A genome of two types (Al and Ac) were studied by electrophoresis of grain storage proteins (avenins), chromosome C-banding, and in situ hybridization with probes pTa71 and pTa794. The karyotypes of the studied species displayed similar C-banding patterns but differed in size and morphology of several chromosomes, presumably, resulting from structural rearrangements that took place during the divergence of A genomes from a common ancestor. In situ hybridization demonstrated an identical location of the 45S and 5S rRNA gene loci in Avena canariensis and A. longiglumis similar to that in the A. strigosa genome. However, the 5S rDNA locus in A. longiglumis (5S rDNA1) was considerably decreased in the chromosome 3A1 long arm. The analysis demonstrated that these oat species were similar in the avenin component composition, although individual accessions differed in the electrophoretic mobilities of certain components. A considerable similarity of A. canariensis and A. longiglumis to the Avena diploid species carrying the As genome variant was demonstrated.

Individual plants from the BC1F5 and BC1F6 backcross progenies of barley--wheat (= H. geniculatum All.) (2n = 28) x T. aestivum L. (2n = 42)] and the BC1F6 progeny of their amphiploids were used to obtain alloplasmic euploid (2n = 42) lines L-28, L-29, and L-49 and alloplasmic telocentric addition (2n = 42 + 2t) lines L-37, L-38, and L-50. The lines were examined by genomic in situ hybridization (GISH), microsatellite analysis, chromosome C-banding, and PCR analysis of the mitochondrial 18S/5S repeat. Lines L-29 and L-49 were characterized by substitution of wild barley chromosome 7H1 for common wheat chromosome 7D. In line L-49, common wheat chromosomes 1B, 5D, and 7D were substituted with homeologous barley chromosomes. Lines L-37, L-38, and L-50 each contained a pair of telocentric chromosomes, which corresponded to barley chromosome arm 7H'L. All lines displayed heteroplasmy for the mitochondrial 18S/5S locus; i.e., both barley and wheat sequences were found.

Ninety-four lines of Triticum dicoccum isolated from 86 wheat accessions from Vavilov All-Russia Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR, Russia) and INRA (Clermont-Ferrand, France) germ-plasm collections were studied using C-banding technique. Visual comparison of karyotypes of different accessions was performed to establish genetic relationships and evaluate features inherent for ecological--geographical groups. The level of C-banding polymorphism in the whole sample of tetraploid emmer proved to be relatively low. The diversity within groups was mostly higher than the differences between them. The material studied contained 39 lines carrying 16 different types of chromosomal rearrangements including single and multiple translocations and inversions. The level of translocation polymorphism was comparable with that detected earlier for polyploid wheat species. The frequencies of individual translocation types varied from 18 (T7A:5B) to 1 (nine types). Analysis of the distribution of the most frequent translocationsA:5B suggested that it has significant adaptive value on the territory of Europe. Similarity of the C-banding patterns of European emmer and the accessions with the same translocation of the Asian origin points to their possible common origin. The occurrence of the same translocation in several T. dicoccoides accessions from Syria and Lebanon may indicate that such forms of wild emmer could have taken part in the origin of cultivate emmer from Western Europe. Similarity of the C-banding patterns of some chromosomes of European emmer and spelt could serve as an indirect evidence of their close genetic relationships.

Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to study the distribution of the Spelt1 and Spelt52 repetitive DNA sequences on chromosomes of ten accessions representing three polyploid wheat species of the Timopheevi group: Triticum araraticum (7), T. timopheevii (2), and T. kiharae (1). Sequences of both families were found mostly in the subtelomeric chromosome regions of the G genome. The total number of Spelt1 sites varied from 8 to 14 in the karyotypes of the species under study; their number, location, and size differed among the seven T. araraticum accessions and were the same in the two T. timopheevii accessions and T. kiharae, an amphidiploid T. timopheevii-Aegilops tauschii hybrid. The Spelt52 tandem repeat was detected in the subtelomeric regions of chromosomes 1-4; its sites did not coincide with the Spelt1 sites. The chromosome distribution and signal intensity of the Spelt52 repeats varied in T. araraticum and were the same in T. timopheevii and T. kiharae. The chromosome distributions of the Spelt1 and Spelt52 repeats were compared for the polyploid wheats of the Timopheevi group and diploid Ae. speltoides, a putative donor of the G genome. The comparison revealed a decrease in hybridization level: both the number of sites per genome and the size of sites were lower. The decrease was assumed to result from repeat elimination during polyploidization and subsequent evolution of wheat and from the founder effect, since the origin of Timopheevi wheats might involve the genotype of Ae. speltoides, which is highly polymorphic for the distribution of Spelt1 and Spelt52 sequences and is similar in the chromosome location of the repeats to modern wheat.

Differential C-banding of chromosomes and in situ hybridization with the probes pTa71 and pTa794 were used for a comparative cytogenetic study of the three tetraploid oat species with the A and C genomes: Avena insularis, A. magna, and A. murphyi. These species were similar in the structure and patterns of C-banding of several chromosomes as well as in the location of the loci 5S rRNA genes and main NOR sites; however, they differed in the number and localization of minor 45S rDNA loci as well as in the morphology and distribution of heterochromatin in some chromosomes. According to the data obtained, A. insularis is closer to A. magna, whereas A. murphyi is somewhat separated from these two species. Presumably, all the three studied species originated from the same tetraploid ancestor, and their divergence is connected with various species-specific chromosome rearrangements. The evolution of A. murphyi is likely to have occurred independently of the other two species.

Comparative cytogenetic analysis was performed with four alloplasmic recombinant (Hordeum vulgare)-Triticum aestivum lines differing in morphological traits, number of seeds per spike, and seed plumpness. None of the lines displayed introgression of the barley genetic material: the karyotypes included only common wheat chromosomes. Two lines, 79(B) and 79(D), were cytogenetically stable. Plants of lines 79(A) and 79(C) displayed a high frequency of unbalanced chromosome aberrations, including dicentric and polycentric chromosomes, terminal deletions varying in size, acentric fragments, and multiple unidentifiable translocations. Previous studies of the mitochondrial genome showed that the two cytologically unstable lines, which were also unstable in fertility and viability, are characterized by heteroplasmy at the mitochondrial 18S-5S locus (simultaneous presence of barley and wheat fragments). Stable lines 79(B) and 79(D) with normal fertility contained only wheat mitochondrial markers. It was assumed that the substantial instability of the nuclear genome in lines 79(C) and 79(A) was a result of nuclear-cytoplasmic incompatibility and was associated with heteroplasmy, while elimination or considerable reduction of barley material in the mitochondrial genome stabilized the nuclear genome of lines 79(B) and 79(D). In turn, the instability of the nuclear genome was responsible for a decrease in viability and fertility of plants.

Cytogenetic examination showed that three diploid oat species containing the As genome are highly similar in karyotype structure and chromosome C-banding patterns. Avena strigosa is more similar to A. wiestii, while A. hirtula is to an extent separated from the two species, differing in the C-banding pattern of chromosome 6. The karyotypes of all three species harbor a small acrocentric chromosome, which is absent from diploid oat species containing other variants of the A genome. The results made it possible to assume genome specificity of the rearrangement resulting in this chromosome.

The chromosome of Agropyron intermedium (Host) Beauv. substituting chromosome 6D has been identified in the karyotype of the Triticum aestivum L. line Multi 6R with the use of C-banding. The alien chromosome, temporarily designated 6Ag1, contains gene(s) of the resistance to the Saratov population of Puccinia recondita Rob. ex. Desm. f. tritici. It has been demonstrated that the resistance gene(s) is(are) highly efficient and that chromosome 6Ag1 is preferably transferred through gametes.

We studied common wheat alloplasmic lines differing in fertility traits, which had been obtained from the backcross progeny of barley-wheat hybrids Hordeum vulgare L. (2n = 14) x Triticum aestivum L. (2n = 42), using molecular analysis and chromosome C-banding. It was found that the nuclei of all alloplasmic lines studied, regardless of their fertility traits, contained only the common wheat chromosomes (2n = 42). The formation of line L-79(10)(3)F6, stable for self-fertility, from line L-79(10)(3)F6 was accompanied by changes of the proportions of simple sequence repeats of the parental common wheat varieties in the nuclear genome. The presence of barley genome fragments in line accessions with incomplete self-fertility was shown by RAPD. Heteroplasmy for mitochondrial genome loci was detected in these lines with the use of primers specific to the tMet-18S-5S repeat of mitochondrial ribosomal genes.

Intraspecific divergence of hexaploid wheat Triticum spelta was studied by chromosome C-banding in 41 accessions of different geographic origins. The spelt accessions did not differ in karyotype structure or heterochromatin distribution from common wheat, but showed greater intraspecific polymorphism for chromosome rearrangements (translocations, inversions) and banding patterns. On evidence of C-banding patterns, spelt was assumed to occupy an intermediate position between tetraploid and hexaploid wheat species. Accessions of the Asian spelt subspecies had more diverse banding patterns than European accessions. A relatively high frequency of chromosome rearrangements was observed in Iranian accessions. Visual analysis revealed high uniformity of chromosome banding patterns in T. spelta populations of Afghanistan, Spain, and Germany (Bavarian group), suggesting a significant role of the founder effect in their evolution.

Cytogenetic analysis was employed in studying the cause of generation of fertile awned forms in the progeny of plants, which were selected from a speltoid somaclonal wheat line monosomic for chromosome 5A (2n = 41 = 20II + I), had speltoid spikes, and were reproduced by self pollination. On cytogenetic and genetic evidence, chromosome 5A was eliminated and the copy number of chromosome 5B increased in the plants examined. The appearance of an extra chromosome 5B is probably caused by nondisjunction of bivalent 5B in the presence of a telocentric originating from the long arm of chromosome 5A. A difference in meiotic segregation was observed for univalent chromosomes 5A and 5B.

Differential staining methods found extensive use in karyotype studies of many plant and animal species and provide for reliable identification of all chromosomes of the organism. Below we describe the most widespread methods and history of their advent. In addition, we discuss specific structure of the chromosomes and possible mechanisms responsible for differential segmentation.

The possibilities of the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for identification of some polyploid species of genus Aegilops based on the idiograms of their D genomes were demonstrated.

Four tetraploid (Aegilops ovata, Ae. biuncialis, Ae. columnaris, and Ae. triaristata) and one hexaploid (Ae. recta) species of the U-genome cluster were studied using C-banding technique. All species displayed broad C-banding polymorphism and high frequency of chromosomal rearrangements. Chromosomal rearrangements were represented by paracentric inversions and intragenomic and intergenomic translocations. We found that the processes of intraspecific divergence of Ae. ovata, Ae. biuncialis, and Ae. columnaris were probably associated with introgression of genetic material from other species. The results obtained confirmed that tetraploid species Ae. ovata and Ae. biuncialis occurred as a result of hybridization of a diploid Ae. umbellulata with Ae. comosa and Ae. heldreichii, respectively. The dissimilarity of the C-banding patterns of several chromosomes of these tetraploid species and their ancestral diploid forms indicated that chromosomal aberrations might have taken place during their speciation. Significant differences of karyotype structure, total amount and distribution of C-heterochromatin found between Ae. columnaris and Ae. triaristata, on the one hand, and Ae. ovata and Ae. biuncialis, on the other, evidenced in favor of different origin of these groups of species. In turn, similarity of the C-banding patterns of Ae. columnaris and Ae. triaristata chromosomes suggested that they were derived from a common ancestor. A diploid species Ae. umbellulata was the U-genome donor of Ae. columnaris and Ae. triaristata; however, the donor of the second genome of these species was not determined. We assumed that these tetraploid species occurred as a result of introgressive hybridization. Similarity of the C-banding patterns of chromosomes of Ae. recta and its parental species Ae. triaristata and Ae. uniaristata indicated that the formation of the hexaploid form was not associated with large modifications of the parental genomes.

The karyotypes of 47 hybrid lines obtained from crosses of common wheat Triticum aestivum L. (cv. Rodina and line 353) with Triticum timopheevii Zhuk, (AtAtGG) and related species T. militinae Zhuk. et Migusch. (AtAtGG) and T. kiharae Dorof. et Migusch. (AtAtGGDsqDsq) were analyzed by C-banding. Most lines were resistant to yellow rust and powdery mildew. The introgression of alien genetic material to the common wheat genome was realized via substitutions of complete At-, G-, and D-genome chromosomes, chromosome arms, or their fragments. The pattern of chromosome substitutions in resistant lines differed from that in introgressive hybrids selected for other traits. Substitutions of chromosomes 6G, 2At, 2G, and 5G were revealed in 31, 23, 18, and 13 lines, respectively. Substitutions of chromosomes 4G-, 4At, and 6At were not observed. In 15 lines, a 5BS. 5BL-5GL translocation was identified. High frequency of substitutions of chromosomes 2At, 2G, 5G, and 6G indicate that they may carry the resistance genes and that they are closely related to the respective homoeologous chromosomes of common wheat that determines their high compensation ability.

The distribution of highly repetitive DNA sequences on chromosomes of tetraploid and hexaploid cytotypes of Aegilops crassa (Dcr1Xcr and Dcr1XcrDcr2 genomes) was studied using C-banding and in situ hybridization analyses with the pSc119, pAs1 and pTa794 DNA clones. In total, 14 tetraploid and five hexaploid accessions were examined. All chromosomes can be identified by their C-banding and ISH pattern with the pAs1 DNA clone. Only a few pSc119 hybridization sites were observed in the telomeric regions of several chromosomes. We found a high level of C-banding polymorphism and only minor variations in labeling patterns. The position of C-bands generally coincided with the location of the pAs1 sequence. Three 5S rDNA loci were detected in tetraploid Ae. crassa, whereas five pTa794 ISH sites were observed in 6x Ae. crassa. All the hexaploid accessions differed from the tetraploids by a reciprocal non-centromeric translocation involving chromosomes A and N. Three additional translocations were detected in the accessions analyzed. The Dcr1 genome of 4x Ae. crassa is highly modified compared with the D genome of the progenitor species Ae. tauschii. Because of the large amount of chromosomal rearrangements, the origin of the Xcr genome remains unknown. The second Dcr2 genome of 6x Ae. crassa is different from the Dcr1 genome but is similar to the D-genome chromosomes of Ae. tauschii, indicating that no additional large rearrangements occurred at the hexaploid level.