Abstract
The B-chromosome constitution of a seed sample of Allium schoenoprasum collected from a sub-population at the River Wye, Powys, S. Wales in July 1982 has been compared with that of a seedling sample collected from the same sub-population in September 1982. The seedling sample contained significantly more B-containing plants than the seed sample (64·1 per cent vs. 55·2 per cent), and the mean number of B-chromosomes in B-containing plants was also significantly increased in the seedlings (2·44 vs. 2·23). This implies that there is differential selection in favour of B-containing seedlings and seedlings with increased numbers of B-chromosomes during the initial stages of the life cycle when levels of mortality of A. schoenoprasum in this riverside habitat are high.
Non-standard types of B-chromosome accounted for a smaller proportion of the B-chromosomes in the seedlings compared with that in the seeds (9·7 per cent vs. 15·2 per cent), and there was a marked reduction in the frequency of plants carrying only non-standard B-types amongst the seedlings (6·2 per cent vs. 12·5 per cent).
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Holmes, D., Bougourd, S. B-chromosome selection in Allium schoenoprasum. I. Natural populations. Heredity 63, 83–87 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1989.78
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1989.78
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