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Desynapsis in Coix lacryma-jobi caused by genotype-environment-interaction
1Department of Botany, Andhra University, Waltair, India.
Summary
Environmental factors, like summer heat, can trigger temporary desynapsis in Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), causing sterility. This condition resolves with cooler temperatures, indicating a genotype-environment interaction affecting meiosis.
Area of Science:
- Plant genetics
- Reproductive biology
- Environmental science
Background:
- Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) are economically important plants.
- Meiotic abnormalities can lead to plant sterility.
- Environmental factors are known to influence plant development and reproduction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cause of temporary total sterility in a Coix lacryma-jobi plant.
- To understand the role of environmental factors in meiotic abnormalities.
- To explore the interaction between genotype and environment in plant fertility.
Main Methods:
- Observation of meiosis in a sterile Coix lacryma-jobi plant during summer.
- Analysis of chromosome pairing at diakinesis and metaphase I.
- Examination of meiosis and fertility in perennial suckers during the rainy season.
Main Results:
- One Coix lacryma-jobi plant exhibited total sterility during summer due to desynapsis.
- Chromosome pairing was normal at pachytene but showed univalents at diakinesis and metaphase I.
- Perennial suckers displayed regular meiosis and fertility in cooler, rainy conditions.
Conclusions:
- Desynapsis in this Coix lacryma-jobi plant is likely caused by a genotype-environment interaction.
- Increased summer temperatures may activate a desynaptic gene, leading to sterility.
- The effect of desynapsis is reversible, with fertility restored in cooler temperatures.
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