Sister chromatid separation and monopolar spindle organization in the first meiosis as two mechanisms of unreduced gametes formation in wheat–rye hybrids

KEY MESSAGE: Unreduced gametes. ABSTRACT: The absence of a strict pachytene checkpoint in plants presents an opportunity to study meiosis in polyhaploid organisms. In the present study, we demonstrate that meiosis is coordinated in hybrids between disomic wheat–rye substitution lines 1Rv(1A), 2R(2D), 5R(5D), 6R(6A) and rye (Triticum aestivum L. × Secale cereale L., 4x = 28, ABDR). By using in situ hybridization with a centromere pAet6-09 probe and immunostaining with H3Ser10ph-, CENH3-, and α-tubulin-specific antibodies, we distinguished four chromosome behaviour types. The first one is a mitotic-like division that is characterized by mitotic centromere architecture, robust bipolar spindle, one-step loss of arm and centromere cohesion, and sister chromatid separation in the first and only meiotic division. The second type involves a monopolar spindle formation, which appears as a hat-shaped group of chromosomes moving in one direction, wherein MT bundles are co-oriented polewards. It prevents chromosome segregation in meiosis I, with a bipolar spindle distributing sister chromatids to the poles in meiosis II. These events subsequently result in the formation of unreduced microspores. The other two meiotic-like chromosome segregation patterns known as reductional and equational plus reductional represent stand-alone types of cell division rather than intermediate steps of meiosis I. Only sterile pollen is produced as a result of such meiotic-like chromosome behaviours. Slightly variable meiotic phenotypes are reproducibly observed in hybrids under different growth conditions. The 2R(2D)xR genotype tends to promote reductional division. In contrast, the genotypes 1Rv(1A)xR, 5R(5D)xR, and 6R(6A)xR promote equational chromosome segregation and monopolar spindle formation in addition to reductional and equational plus reductional division types. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00497-016-0279-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.