| Chlorophyll variegation which appeared in male-sterile
Emmer wheat Hirosuke FUKASAWA Biological Institute, Faculty of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan Male-sterile emmer wheats with ovata cytoplasm, which were obtained by successive backcrosses, show a conspicuous chlorophyll variegation of whitish dots or stripes on the leaves, like a variegation caused by virus infection. Its appearance varies according to the growing stages. Table 1 shows the results observed during the period from Nov. 1953 to May 1954. The variegation takes place only when durum genomes were combined with the ovata cytoplasm. Therefore, the variegation is attributed to the interaction between the ovata cytoplasm and the durum genomes. A paper-chromatographic analysis and an absorption method using the photoelectric colorimeter were adopted in order to compare the chlorophyll content of the normal and the variegated leaves. From these tests it was found that the chlorophyll content of the variegated leaves was reduced to about 70% of that of the normal green leaves. |