Summary
Male plants of V. fischeri have 2n = 23 and constantly produce seven bivalents and a multivalent chain of nine chromosomes at meiosis. Regular assortment results in transmission of 11- and 12-chromosome genomes via the pollen. Female plants have the chromosome number 2n = 22 and are homozygous for the 11-chromosome genome. The multivalent chain in the males is a consequence of reciprocal translocations, one of which was Robertsonian and one of which involved the chromosome carrying the sex determination factors. There is a constant female-predominant sex ratio of approximately 1:2 in V. fischeri, possibly maintained by gamete selection; the genes involved may have been linked with the sex determination mechanism through the translocation system.
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Barlow, B., Wiens, D. Translocation heterozygosity and sex ratio in Viscum fischeri. Heredity 37, 27–40 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1976.63
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1976.63
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