Establishment of a multi-color genomic in situ hybridization technique to simultaneously discriminate the three interspecific hybrid genomes in gossypium

To identify alien chromosomes in recipient progenies and to analyze genome components in polyploidy, a genomic In situ hybridization (GISH) technique that is suitable for cotton was developed using increased stringency conditions. The increased stringency conditions were a combination of the four factors in the following optimized state: 100:1 ratio of blocking DNA to probe, 60% formamide wash solution, 43 =C temperature wash and a 13 min wash. Under these specific conditions using gDNA from Gossypium sturtianurn (C1C1) as a probe, strong hybridization signals were only observed on chromosomes from the C1 genome in somatic cells of the hybrid F1 (G. hirsutum×G. sturtianum) (AtDtC1). Therefore, GISH was able to discriminate parental chromosomes in the hybrid. Further, we developed a multi-color GISH to simultaneously discriminate the three genomes of the above hybrid. The results repeatedly displayed the three genomes, At, Dt, and C1, and each set of chromosomes with a unique color, making them easy to identify. The power of the multi-color GISH was proven by analysis of the hexaploid hybrid F1 (G. hirsutum × G. australe) (AtAtDtDtG2G2). We believe that the powerful multi-color GISH technique could be applied extensively to analyze the genome component in polyploidy and to identify alien chromosomes in the recipient progenies.